Somewhere I Belong
by Iapetus
Summary: AU. The truth is rarely pure and never simple. Yaoi. GokuSanzo, KougaijiYaone and GojyoHakkai.
1. Prologue: A Dark Rebirth

Somewhere I Belong

A Saiyuki fan fiction by Iapetus

**Disclaimer:**  I do not own Saiyuki.

**Beta Readers:**  Truth to Madness and Orenda

**Rating:**  PG13 for now, but it WILL be pushed to R later due to the reason stated in the warning.

**Couples:**  Goku/Sanzo/Goku, Kougaiji/Yaone and Gojyo/Hakkai.

**_WARNING:_**  _First off, this story is a darkfic.  It also_ _contains material that may be considered offensive to some readers.  Among these are:  blood, violence, swearing, a corrupt government, supernatural creatures, nudity, lime (for both m/m and m/f) and yaoi.  This means that there will be male/male sexual activity.  If any of this bothers you, please turn away.  I will raise the rating to R once the first bit of lime appears._

**Definitions:**

Diet (with a capital D)- A national or local legislative assembly in certain countries

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Prologue:  A Dark Rebirth

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            Everyday, he would put on a mask.

            Masks were common in a normal human society.  They protected a person's soul from the utmost scrutiny of a world that didn't mind if your feelings and ambitions were crushed.

            If he had been normal, he would have a mask like everyone else.  Not that big, but not that small.  Unlike the others, he never seemed to wear a mask at all.  His feelings and thoughts had been made known to the world, and it didn't matter what others thought.  He could never be like that again.  It was too dangerous.

            Some believed that the truth could set you free.  He would smile bitterly whenever he heard the "prophets of doom" try their best to expose the lies of the Diet, or when the various religious factions tried to hold large rallies that talked about a Way Out.

            There was no Way Out.  Truth did not set a person free, not in this city.  Most who discovered the truth died moments afterwards.  Those that had escaped had had to pay a terrible price.

            The people who knew the Truth were fighting the losing side of an endless war that threatened to devour the capital.  They faced death every day now, but this time they were able to take it instead of just receiving it.

            In the crumbling records of the Forgotten Religion, only a single warning had been able to be deciphered:  "Those that knowingly bring death to another shall forever be damned to live it.  Those that see death and escape shall forever be the ones to take it."

            The Diet had attempted to eliminate all memory of this ancient saying, stating that THEY were the ones who told the people that they should not kill.  Their efforts, while not completely successful, were also not entirely useless.  No one seemed to remember the second half of the saying.

            That was actually for the better.  It made his job that much easier.

            It was time for him to get going to class.  Son Goku had a reputation to keep – complete with mask – after all.

.

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            The young man cried out in pain as he fell to the ground and against a brick wall.  It had been the fifth time he had fallen after setting out to his destination, and his confidence on being able to make it was quickly fading.  He knew that if he did not get out of sight soon, more of the vile creatures would come to prey on him.

            Using his right hand to push against the wall, he slowly was able to stand again.  He winced at the trail of blood he was leaving.  _Shuuei's going to have a hell of a time cleaning this up,_ he thought to himself.  _I wouldn't be surprised if he wouldn't want to kill me himself for it…_  The thought of the laid-back Shrine Abbot make him smile, but the action caused his body to spasm in pain.  More blood oozed out of his wound on the side of stomach.  He had to get out of sight immediately, but he did not want to draw his enemies' attention to any of the innocents.  His last wish was for others to get caught up in his private fight.

            It wasn't as if he could prevent that, no matter how hard he tried.  Innocents were dying every day, and he could do nothing to stop it.  He hated seeing those he knew fall into the conflict – the secret conflict that held his city in fear with an iron grip – either by death or becoming a Hunter like himself.  If that wasn't enough, his luck had decided to run out.

            Clutching his right side with his left hand, the Hunter continued on his way, trying his best to ascertain if anyone had been following him.  Looking up at the street signs, he realized that he had been stumbling though Gojyo's district.  The man smirked at the thought.  While he could personally not stand the man 85% of the time (his perverseness bothered him), only a fool would try to encroach on Gojyo's territory.  He was one of the most powerful beings in the town, and one of the only ones the Hunter could trust.

            He sighed as he continued along his way.  Even if he could trust Gojyo, there was no way he could confront him as he was.  The only time he ever met with him was when it could be done in secret, and _especially_ not when it was the prime time of the night.  The young man was sure that Gojyo would be probably taking the money of idiots who thought they could beat him at poker.  It was either that or seducing some young woman before he had his meal for the night.

            He had continued on, seemingly unnoticed by the people of his city.  The people did not see what they did not want to see, and they especially did not want to see the bloodstained body of one of their most beloved authors seem to stumble towards his death.

            _Like hell I'm going to die!_ He cursed at no one in particular.  _I still have to pay them back for what they did, and I can't just leave the others…_

            Two had gotten away.  Hunters did not tolerate halfway-completed jobs.  If the enemy could identify them, they might as well just surrender the capital that night.  The only weapon they truly had was that of surprise.  If no one knew that they were coming, they could always have at least a small advantage.  He would have to go out and kill them as soon as he could move again.  Shuuei might even go out after them that night to finish the job he started, to help protect them all.  The Shrine Abbot didn't hunt that often, but he had done so in emergency situations.  Shuuei's predecessor, Koumyou-sensei, had been the same way. 

            An expression of relief formed on his face as his blurry vision caught site of his destination at last.  Shuuei knew he was making a kill tonight, but he should have checked in long ago.  Of course, he had also not counted on the fact that he had been ambushed by a dozen Keikans instead of drawing out a few Weaklings like his informant had told him.  In fact, hadn't Gojyo been his main informant for this mission?  Had he had more energy, he would have probably cursed his informant into oblivion, but he had to concentrate on getting into the Shrine first.

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            Shuuei went through the compound a third time, trying to relieve his boredom of waiting in a productive manner.  Only one Hunter told him that they were going to be making a kill that night, but it was always possible that one of the others could have a run-in.  He was especially worried about the two new Hunters – they were still in mourning over the death of their best friend.  The seriousness of the situation had helped them focus a bit more, but no Hunter truly got over the death of the person that had unintentionally caused their rebirth as a killer, not even himself.

            Still, it was not like any of the Hunters to be late for their cleansing.  A Hunter was required to purify their body with Holy Water once a week, or after every kill they made.  While blood would always stain their souls, a purified body would be perfect bait to the enemy.  They could not reek of the enemy's own scent – it would make them a target instead of bait.

            As the abbot made his fourth pass across the threshold of the secret entrance, he saw the bloodied body of a familiar figure lying in the street.  Eyes widening, he quickly scanned his surroundings to make sure that the ancient wards held in place.  After verifying that they kept their hold, he quietly ran into the middle of the street to where the man lay.

            As he approached the figure, his senses were suddenly overwhelmed with the close proximity of a Keikan.  _Shit…_  Had he really been that careless?  Shuuei had been prone to falling for hypnotism in the past, but with Gojyo's help he had overcome the obstacle.  Was he facing a Keikan so powerful that it could even overwhelm his training?  Drawing a thin foot-long spike from his robes, he approached the body with caution.

            The man was indeed the Hunter he had been waiting for.  Listening closely, he could hear the man breathing as he went to assess his other injuries.  Fear grew in his body when he realized that the powerful aura he had felt was radiating from his friend on the ground.  If he was really emitting that kind of aura… _Oh god, please don't let it be true…_

            Shuuei moved to inspect the body of the young man quickly.  He needed to get him out of sight if he was to be treated, especially if he was suffering from such severe blood loss.  The abbot eyed the shredded cloth on his right side, and gasped as the sight.

            The shirt has been ripped to tatters, and blood turned the brown shirt to a sickeningly and shiny shade of black.  Some blood had even mingled with the man's deep red hair, keeping his long strands from blowing out into the gentle wind that swept through the street.  Shuuei watched with horror as he saw the ugly wound that had been carved into the Hunter's side seemingly pulled together on it's own accord and mend itself.  The skin was completely healed and healthy looking, despite being still sleek with blood.  It appeared as if there had never been an injury at all in the center of the mess.

            Suddenly, a spasm wracked the young man's body, and he grasped his lower neck with his left hand, clenching his teeth against a scream.  His eyes flew open, and Shuuei could see the terror in the deep lavender-colored irises as he realized what was happening to him.

            Shuuei could do nothing as he watched Kougaiji's eyes become a deep shade of garnet.  His hand fell from his neck as he returned the abbot's gaze.  Neither of them could speak for a moment.

            "C'mon," Shuuei finally whispered, "We need to get you out of sight."  He offered his hand to help him off the ground, but it was simply pushed away.

            "I refuse to defile the shrine," Kougaiji objected vehemently.

            Shuuei laughed darkly at this.  "How could you?  You are one of the greatest Hunters this town has ever seen."

            "That doesn't matter anymore."

            Shuuei already knew what he was talking about before he spoke the words.

            "Don't even say it!  Even if I was a Hunter I can never be one again."  His tongue slipped out of his mouth to lick the blood off his lips subconsciously, but he spit it out immediately when he realized what he had done.

            "A vampire can never be a Hunter."

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There will not be any romance for a while, I'm just warning you now.

This prologue serves two purposes:  to act as, well, the prologue, and to be a bit of a teaser.  If you'd like to know when this story is going to be updated, please let me know.

Comments and criticisms appreciated!

-Iapetus


	2. Chapter 01: Promotion

Somewhere I Belong

A Saiyuki fan fiction by Iapetus

**Disclaimer:**  Be glad that I don't own Saiyuki – my artwork sucks.  I also don't speak Japanese, but that's beside the point.  ^^

**Beta Readers:**  Truth to Madness and Orenda__

*Jaw drops*  I can't believe how many people reviewed the prologue!  I was really surprised, but very happy that you all enjoyed it.  Thank you to:  keistje, mabaroshi16,Hikari-neko, gallatica, Am1-13th, Merf, K. Firefly, D-chan, Forsaken^On3, KarotsaMused, Chevaux and Padre Fear for taking the time to review it.  *bows in gratitude*  Review responses can be found on the link in my bio.

**Definitions:**

Sedition- Conduct or language inciting rebellion against the authority of a state.  Insurrection; rebellion.

_The prologue took place six months before chapter 1.  THIS is where the story begins._

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Chapter 1:  Promotion

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            There seemed to be nothing special about the bar in the middle of the street.  The building, as well as those around it, was in surprisingly good condition for the side of city they were in.  Maybe it was because the people in that area were doing their best to be seen as respectable – as if they were an oasis in the slum.  Maybe it was because they were close to the border between the main part of town and the outskirts.  Or maybe, it was because no one was willing to mess with the person who seemed to run the place.

            The building in question was built solidly with a variety of earth-colored bricks.  The pharmacy on the left-hand side, the restaurant on the right and a large wall across the street were built of the same material.  There was evidence that someone had tried to tag the large brick wall, but the street's residents had done their best to wash it away.

            A faint buzzing sound caught the attention of a young man with shoulder length crimson hair and eyes to match.  He smirked as he looked at the flickering light of the bar's neon sign.  It was the giveaway that the street was in close proximity to the red-light district.  The young man liked the touch.  Had the sign been working perfectly, the bar would not have appeared to be his kind of place anyways.

            "Gojyo!"  Several girls stood up and immediately came to his side as he walked in the door.  Women always seemed to migrate towards him every time he entered a room.

            "How ya doing, Gojyo?" the bartender called out from behind the counter.  "Want the usual?"

            "You know it."  He turned to look at the women surrounding him.  "And how are _you_ ladies doing tonight?"

            "I'm fine now that you're here," a brunette said seductively.

            "Yeah," some of the others agreed.

            A strawberry blonde with her hair cut short casually touched his left arm as she began to speak.  "Tonpu says he wants to challenge you to a rematch after last week's game."

            Gojyo fought to keep from frowning.  Tonpu never came in demanding a "rematch" unless he had some important information and needed to talk to him alone.  Things had been growing progressively worse in the capital, and all Gojyo could do was listen as the innocent suffered.

            Only, he didn't _just_ listen.  Gojyo was in a position that few held.  When one hangs out in a bar and lived in that part of town, a person heard things.  Well, he couldn't really call himself a person since he never was human in the first place, but he liked to think that he was at least a little bit better than the rest of his kind.  At least he was trying to help the humans…

            Gojyo caught Tonpu's eye from where his friend sat in the corner of the room.  He was already shuffling a deck of cards, but he was not doing it in his usual carefree manner.  His eyes were serious.  _This is something big…_

            He turned back to the women and smiled.  "Hmm… I don't want to embarrass Tonpu _that_ much today.  How about you give him and me a few minutes, beautifuls?"

            The women were not keen on leaving their bar's stud, but obliged as he gave them a sly wink.  "I promise I'll make up for it later."  They seemed to cheer up as he made his way to the counter to grab the bottle of 151 proof Rum, a bottle of Tabasco sauce and a glass the bartender had set out for him.  Gojyo saw that Tonpu didn't have anything to drink.  "I'll have a Budweiser too."

            Taking his alcohol, Gojyo sat down across form where Tonpu was seated.  He was unusually quiet, even for one of their "rematches."  He set the beer close to the turquoise-haired man's hand and smiled.

            "Thanks, Gojyo, but you didn't have to…" he began.

            "Don't worry about it.  It looked like you needed a drink anyways."  He opened up the Rum and mixed himself a "Fire in Heaven."  "I always need one this time of night."  He quickly downed his glass and set sat back in his seat.

            "How can you drink that stuff?  You're going to kill yourself like that!"

            "Yeah right, Tonpu," he said in a good-natured laugh before dropping his tone.  "It isn't as if alcohol could hurt my system now anyways.  Yours either."

            The other man shrugged as he took a swig of his beer.  "All I know is that this is enough for me.  I haven't had to feed in about a week."

            "Yeah, but if you don't get some soon, you'll go crazy."

            Tonpu shrugged again.  "The copy girl in my office works well enough.  She never seems to object me taking a sip here and there…" There was an awkward pause.

            "So, aren't you going to deal?  I don't think those cards could be shuffled any more than they are already."

            Tonpu actually smiled as he dealt out five cards for each of them and put his ante in the center.

            "How many do you want?"

            Gojyo looked at his hand and pulled a couple of cards out.  "Two."  He paused to make sure that they were not being overheard.  "So, what's been going on?"

            "What _hasn't_ been going on is more like it.  Dealer takes three.  Did you hear about Old Man Liang?"

            _Had_ he heard about it?  He had been there.  While Gojyo had never cared for authority, police Chief Liang had sincerely wanted to protect the city.  He was one of the few officials in the system that was not corrupted.  Unfortunately, the man's senses had dulled with time, and he had died in the crossfire of Lirin's most recent kill.  It was not the rookie Hunter's fault for the mess up; she had been ambushed in a similar way that her brother Kougaiji had been seven months ago.  Had Gojyo not happened to be passing by…

            Killing twenty Weaklings, the derogative term for weak vampires, was nothing for someone like Gojyo.  He had been a Keikan his whole life, and only those with brain damage would think they had a chance against a powerful vampire like himself.  Lirin had taken out ten of them herself by the time help had arrived.  However, the police squad that had been in the area had already been decimated beyond recognition.  Even Gojyo, with all of the gore he had seen in his days, shuddered at the thought.

            "Yeah."  He threw his ante in, as well as a few dollars to start the bidding.  "Messy way to go."

            "Did you hear who they are going to replace him with?"

            "No."

            The man seemed to toy with his cards, and finally matched Gojyo's bid.  _His play is slow today, slower than normal…_

            "So, who is it?" he demanded.

            Tonpu's eyes narrowed.  "Who else is "qualified" for the position?" he sneered.

            Gojyo's face tightened visibly with hatred and worry.  "Dammit…"

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            It was four in the morning, and anyone with common sense stayed off the streets.  With the people unable to figure out exactly what was going on, they simply fled to their houses as soon as night fell.  A blonde-haired figure in a black leather trench coat, however, seemed oblivious to the unwritten rule.  He was often glad that the humans kept to themselves – it was much more annoying when they didn't.

            All he wanted at that moment was to feed.  No matter how much alcohol he consumed or cigarettes he smoked, there was no way he'd be able to last forever.  It would have been easier if he had found himself a willing victim long ago – women always seemed to try to throw themselves on him when he was at work – but Genjo Sanzo found it disgusting to even think about taking them up on their offer.  He refused to depend on others.  The only person he could count on in this world was himself.  Even if he had become one of the creatures that had killed his master, Sanzo would never stoop to their level.

            A single gloved hand rose to adjust his sunglasses that hid his eyes from the world.  He was restless from the lack of activity in the past few days.  Even his work was subdued.  There hadn't been a major fight in over two weeks.  Everywhere he went, he could tell that something was about to happen.

            It was generally Sanzo's disposition to not care about what was going on with other people, but he knew this time that it had to do with vampires.  Even before he had become one, anything involving the vampires had _become_ his business.  He was still on the hunt for his master's killer, and he didn't care how red his hands became or if he damned his soul to Hell, as long as he got his revenge.  No one had ever crossed Genjo Sanzo and lived to talk about it.

            A small break appeared between two of the large buildings to the vampire's right.  He peered down the narrow alley, contemplating on whether to take this shortcut home or to travel the long way via the streets.

            If he took the shortcut, he had a good chance of running into another vampire.  Vampires were territorial by nature and he hated dealing with the stupid ones who couldn't see that he was just passing though.  He was always reminded of the dogs that barked at people when they simply walked in front of "their" yard.  This often seemed to occur on the days when he was in a bad mood, and he was more than grateful to work out some of his frustration on them.

            On the other hand, he could take the long route and remain out in the open.  With the police always patrolling the streets, he would often be stopped and forced to show his identification.  If the officers were in a particularly bad mood, they might try to rough him up.  Not that they could, but he'd just be screwing himself over by picking a fight with the city's "dear and devoted" law enforcement.  It was less troublesome to just avoid them completely.

            Sanzo's eyes narrowed slightly in annoyance as he headed down the dark alley.  Given the choice between a vampire and the police, he'd take a vampire any day.  At least if one of his own kind annoyed him, he could always kill them.

            He had been barely walking for a minute down the new path when his heightened senses detected two people nearby.  In the stillness of the sleeping city, it was easy to hear their conversation.  The vampire found his legs moving in that direction.

            "C'mon baby, give me a little kiss," the first one, a man, said in a low voice.  Sanzo noted that it wasn't really a man, but a Weakling.

            "No thank you," a young woman's voice responded as she apparently tried to get away.  Sanzo could hear struggling, and then the sound of a body being slammed against the side of the building.

            "Really?" the Weakling replied in a sickeningly sweet tone.  "Look me in the eye and say that again to me, baby."

            "Let me go!"  Sanzo could hear more struggling as the woman tried to free herself.  Her efforts were futile; there was no way a normal human woman would be able to resist any level of vampire.  It would not be hard at all for the Weakling to take her right there on the spot.

            It seemed as if the Weakling's patience had worn out – short that it was.  "Open your eyes you damn bitch!"  The blonde-haired Keikan winced slightly as his sensitive ears heard the sound of bone snapping and the echo of an empty metal container.  Sanzo was now standing in front of the opening of the side alleyway both the Weakling and his prey were occupying.

            The weaker vampire immediately tensed at the sensation that the two of them were no longer alone.  He spun around, coming face-to-face with the intruder.  For a moment, neither one moved.

            Sanzo's eyes naturally slipped down from other vampire to look at the girl.  The desire to feed rose again as he saw the young woman try to support herself with the trash bin she had fallen against.

            The Weakling stepped in front of the girl defensively, attempting to look Sanzo in the eye.  "She's _mine_.  This is _my_ territory.  Leave us alone."

            "Che.  Are all Weaklings as stupid as you are?" he said smugly.  

            "What did you just say?!" the Weakling demanded, bristling at the words.

            "An idiot like you couldn't possibly understand."

            The other vampire's face contorted in fury as he rushed his higher-level counterpart.  _Is he truly that stupid?_ Sanzo thought to himself.  _He knows there is no way that he can defeat me._

            It was too late, though.  Sanzo had informally challenged the other vampire for his prey, and he could not back down on his actions.  He could feel his body beginning to be pumped with adrenaline for the upcoming fight.

            The Weakling bared his fangs and moved with a speed that no human eye seemed to be able to follow.  This wasn't the case for a Keikan's eyes – instead the moment seemed sluggish and uncoordinated.  Sanzo easily sidestepped the charge, his timing making it appear that it was only "coincidence" that he did not get hit.

            Turing around, the two vampires repeated this so-called routine, much to the annoyance of one and boredom of the other.  Sanzo wanted to yawn.  It was close to morning, and while sunlight did not turn Keikan vampires into ash like Weaklings, he _had_ been up all night at his job and wanted to get a bit of shuteye.

            The Weakling threw a punch that Sanzo caught with his left hand while his right shot out and grabbed the other vampire's neck.  He glared at the pathetic creature as his grip tightened.

            "Why is it that I always run into the stupid Weaklings?" he asked rhetorically as his grip grew so tight that it snapped his neck in two.

            Injuries that vampires got from other vampires usually took a day and a night to heal.  The weakling couldn't move, and Sanzo wasn't going to help him get inside before the dawn came.  He'd turn to dust as soon as sunlight hit him.

            The shock of his neck breaking seemed to have pushed the Weakling into unconsciousness.  He probably wouldn't even awake before his death.

            _Too bad,_ Sanzo thought, _it would have done the bastard some good to feel a bit more helplessness before he died._

            Stepping over the body, Sanzo walked over to where the girl lay on the ground.  He crouched down and looked at her through his dark sunglasses.  Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she cried silently, despite her valiant efforts to hold them back.  It somehow seemed that she was not crying at her own physical pain, but at something else.

            "Are you ok?" he asked.  The sound of his voice brought her back to awareness.

            "I can't feel anything below my waist…"  It appeared that her lower spine had snapped in the scuffle, for she could not use her legs.

            _She's so helpless…  _His fangs slowly began to slip down in anticipation.

            NO, he was not like that.  He wouldn't do this.  He wouldn't take this woman, no matter how much his body wanted him to.

            Forcing his fangs back into his gums, Sanzo tried to think of a solution.  He couldn't just leave her here.  Images of his master lying in a sea of blood flashed in front of him again.  He had been powerless before then, but maybe now he could actually _do_ something…

            "C'mon, let me get you to the hospital."  He moved to pick her up when he saw her shake her head.

            "Please… oh please god don't take me there."  A few more tears fell down her face.  "You know what would happen to me if I went."

            Sanzo wanted to slap himself.  How had he been so stupid and forget about _that_?

            "What do you want me to do, then?"  He asked in a curt tone.  "You won't be able to hide this forever."

            Her expression broke into a small smile as she looked up at his face.  "You're one of _them_, aren't you?  A Creature of the Night?"  Sanzo couldn't see any reason to lie to her, and nodded his head.  Her smile widened.  "I grew up hearing rumors about you, but now that I finally get to see one… you're different from the legends."

            Sanzo knew that the legends about vampires going through the capital city of Oniori were far from the truth, but his eyebrows still rose slightly at the statement.  Why would she be happy to see him?

            "You're different.  You look like an angel."

            An angel?  Him?  Yeah right.  Not everyone could help being a vampire, but no one could claim to be innocent and also be a Keikan.  To put it simply, the strong devoured the weak.

            Sanzo's eyes had drifted to her neck.  Her skin was smooth and without blemish.  She wore no jewelry to obstruct the perfection; he could even see her jugular throbbing beneath the surface…

            Shutting his eyes, Sanzo quickly turned his head away.  He was no angel – he was a devil.  The girl noticed this, and her look softened.

            "Its ok, you know," she said shyly.  "I'd rather you kill me than someone else."  Sanzo made move to protest, but she continued.

            "It's ok," she repeated.  "It isn't so bad if I give permission, is it?  You're not like the others, I can see that you don't want to be what you are – you even put on sunglasses to keep me from looking into your eyes."  Her left hand rose to his face, and before he knew it she had taken off his glasses and looked into his violet-red eyes.

            "Grandma always said that to look a vampire in the eye was to see death.  I guess she was right…"  Her vision glazed over and became half-lidded as she fell under hypnosis and her body limp in her "angel's" arms.

            Overwhelmed by his senses, Sanzo lost control of his resolve.  Feeling his fangs slip down again, he bit down on the tender flesh of her neck and drank deeply.

.

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            The sidewalks were crowded with the hustle and bustle of the noon rush hour.  The Diet had made a decree long ago stating that no one could work in an office between the hours of 11:45AM and 12:45PM.  Most people, not wanting to stay in the office, would head home for lunch, unless their apartments were too far away.

            Cho Hakkai scolded himself for timing his morning errands incorrectly.  He had needed to deposit the money from his tenants' rent, as well as pay his utility bills. After his parents' death many years ago, he had inherited an apartment complex as well as a few other pieces of property.  When he had grown old enough to run it himself, he sold the other pieces of property to help completely pay off the apartment.  He was one of the only "normal" people in Oniori who owned any property.

            The close proximity of those around him made the green-eyed man glad that he did not have to carry a briefcase or purse like so many other people.  Being an Apartment Manager had its advantages – his hours were flexible and his work was always at home.  His tenants were also all good people.  He used to have a resident a year ago that was often fairly loud when his friends were over, but he had had a good heart.

            Had.  That was the key word.

            Not wanting to think about it, Hakkai found his gaze wandering to the empty streets.  It was so odd seeing sidewalks so full and a large expanse of nothing in between them.  While one got used to it after awhile, it still seemed outlandish to have people patiently wait for the light to change at crosswalks to cross streets with no vehicles on them.

            The Diet had highly restricted the use of automobiles strictly for themselves.  An exception had been made for the emergency services, and any civilian who had been able to jump through all the hoops to get a permit.  It took dozens of steps and several months to even be considered, and even then it was nearly impossible to get an approval.  Most people just didn't bother with it.

            Hakkai _could_ have taken his jeep to the bank – it would have been much quicker – but that would have brought a bit too much attention to him than he'd like.  He needed to keep a low profile, especially since most of his close friends were unable to, and gas prices were incredibly high as it was.  Very few people knew that he had a vehicle permit, and he preferred to keep it that way.  He was also hoping to check something out on the way back home…

            Turning a corner, the young man found himself in one of the busiest areas of the capital.  Across the street to his left was the hospital, where he saw people constantly entering and exiting the building.  On his side of the street were several shops, including a very popular and expensive restaurant with outdoor seating.  Due to rush hour, all the tables had occupants, and the waiters were still trying to squeeze more people in.  He had wanted to stop by somewhere for lunch, but the idea of waiting an hour and a half for even a seat by someone he didn't even know didn't appeal to him.

            "Cho-san!" Eyes skimmed the seating, he found himself looking at one of the most prominent figures in the classical music world, Sha Yaone.

            "Sha-san!"  Yaone was the adopted sister of his best friend, and they had known each other since they were kids.  Hakkai noticed that she had managed to grab a table for two, and the seat across from her was empty.

            "Is this seat taken? He asked quietly, noticing how she scanned the area to make sure that no one was looking at them.  When she saw that the main waiter's head was turned, she shook her head slightly with a smile.

            "I thought you had rehearsal today," he asked in a much more casual tone.  "I know that you usually pack your lunch and eat it at work during break.  I thought you didn't like the large crowds of the noon rush."

            Yaone smiled as she stirred the ice in her water with a straw.  "You're right.  But today's practice was cancelled so we could all go in for our yearly physicals."

            She took a sip of her water and continued.  "I don't understand why they don't stagger it more than this.  It would be a more effective system if they did."

            Hakkai's face grew serious.  "You and I both know that many things the Diet does doesn't make sense."

            Yaone nodded solemnly as the two of them were both temporarily lost in their own thoughts.  They were quickly brought back to reality when they noticed a waiter heading in their direction.  They both put on their traditional smiles, seemingly oblivious to any sort of serious exchange.

            "Ah, I see that your friend has arrived, Sha-san."  The elderly man took out a notepad out of his vest's pocket.  "May I get you anything to drink, sir?"

            "A water is fine, thank you."

            The blue-haired lady waited until the waiter had walked away before she spoke again.  "I thought you liked the sake here.  It may not be the stuff that you normally drink, but it is still very good."

            "Well, I was planning on having some tomorrow night when Gojyo comes over, and it would be odd to drink this early in the day."  He laughed nervously.  The man's alcohol tolerance hadn't ever been completely calculated, for he _never_ seemed to get drunk.  He could even drink Gojyo and Kougaiji under the table and remain sober.  Given the already divine-like alcohol tolerance vampires – especially _Keikan_ vampires – possessed, that was saying something.

            The waiter returned a moment later with Hakkai's water, and they placed their order.  When he left again, the green-eyed man found himself looking back across the street.

            A small knit group seemed to be forming in the courtyard of the hospital.  Hakkai's eyebrows rose slightly as he nodded his head in their direction.  Most of them were wearing white shirts with writing on them that he couldn't make out.  Yaone stole a quick glance before returning his gaze.

            "That's the reason I came.  Shuuei just found about it, and I was the first person he could contact.  We were going to meet here, but something came up and he wasn't able to explain it to me, but it sounded like something big."

            Hakkai's eyebrows rose as she continued.

            "And it isn't just that either.  Did anyone tell you about what happened last night?"

            Hakkai's calmly took a sip of his water.  _Things are happening all the time…_   "It depends on what you are referring to."

            Yaone's eyes darkened.  "A body was found earlier this morning in an alleyway, her spine snapped and all of her blood drained.  The police covered it up quickly, but not before a Hunter was able to find it.  I don't know who did… Shuuei didn't go into detail about that."

            Hakkai's expression remained steady.  A Hunter did not disclose more information than they needed to about their new target, in fear that others might be captured and tortured.  No matter how much he trusted Yaone, he was not going to tell her that it had been _him_ who found the body, and that he was going after another Keikan.

            "Shuuei wanted me here because he said that something is about to happen," she continued,  "and he couldn't personally make it.  If he's right, it should be starting any second now."

            Indeed, something was happening.  The group of people seemed that they were not going to just simply "talk" anymore, but do something.  The warning bells went off in Hakkai's head when he saw a flash of white poster board.

            "You know how there's a group who's dedicated stopping the "operations" on cripples," Yaone whispered.  "Well, they're standing over there.  They were planning a protest in a few months at the next Mass Physical, but something came up to make them take action now."

            "What?"

            "One of the police officers that found the body in the alley is a sympathizer with the group and told his friends.

            "He had seen the bodies of those that "failed" to come out of "surgery."  He wasn't a fool; it was easy to tell that they looked exactly alike."

            "So they're going to protest today," Hakkai finished.  While he despised what went on in the hospital behind closed doors, he could do nothing to stop it without becoming a target of the Diet.

            "Yes, they are, and we're about to lose another one of our contacts.  That policeman is participating."

            The group of people had started to march in a line from one end of the hospital courtyard to the other.  He saw about half of them holding up signs of different colors, but most of them were red and white.  They held similar messages, but some just repeated what was said on their shirts.

            "Stop the Murder?" Hakkai read.  "With a sign like that, the police are going to be here in under a half hour."

            The brown-haired Hunter amended that statement when he saw the leader pull out a megaphone.  _Make that less than ten minutes…_

            "CITIZENS OF THE CAPITAL!  YOU ARE BEING DECEIVED!" he began, directing his speech towards the opposite side of the street.  Those passing by winced at the volume.

            "When are we not?" Hakkai heard a man remark quietly to a friend at a table nearby.  "Everyone knows that the Diet covers stuff up…"

            The speaker continued.  "LAST YEAR, 3173 HANDICAPPED PEOPLE DIED IN THIS HOSPITAL BECAUSE OF "FAILED" OPERATIONS THAT WERE SUPPOSED TO HEAL THEM."  He paused to let the fact sink in.  "THIS NUMBER HAS BEEN RISING WITH EVERY SINGLE YEAR, AND SO FAR OVER A THOUSAND PEOPLE HAVE MET THEIR DEATHS IN THIS WAY IN OUR CURRENT YEAR."  The crowd of rush hour, which had previously been passing by at a fast pace, had gradually slowed down.

            "THE TRUTH IS, THE HOSPITAL HAS _NOT_ BEEN OPERATING ON THEM TO SAVE THEIR LIVES, BUT HAVE BEEN KILLING THEM QUIETLY ON THE DIET'S ORDERS!  THIS IS A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY!  WE CAN'T JUST LET THIS REMAIN COMMONPRACTICE!  RISE UP AND LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!"

            Their salads came, but both Hunters simply picked at their plates.  Neither one was very hungry anymore.

            The rush hour crowd had completely stopped.  Hakkai noticed that some people had started to cry.  Others seemed to get a determined look on their face, and went to go join the demonstration.

            Suddenly, an old man in ragged clothing ran up and grabbed the megaphone from the leader.  "THE DIET HAS BEEN HIDING SOMETHING ELSE FROM YOU!"  The leader was frantically whispering in the man's ear, seemingly trying to get his megaphone back.  The old man seemed oblivious as he continued.

            "THE DIET HAS NOT BEEN EXPLAINING TO YOU WHY SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN "GIVEN PERMISSION TO MOVE AWAY FROM THE CAPITAL!""  Unlike the other "prophets of doom" that frequented the streets of Oniori, Hakkai could see no insanity in the man's eyes.  "THEY ONLY SAY THIS TO EXPLAIN AWAY THE DEATHS THAT THEY WANT TO HIDE FROM YOU!  BOTH THE CRIPPLES AND THE UNEXPLAINED "MOVINGS" MET THEIR DEATHS IN THE SAME WAY!  THEY WERE ALL KILLED BY VAMPIRES!"

            As if on cue, the sirens of the police cars could be heard.  Hakkai shut his eyes tight to the situation in helplessness.              There was nothing anyone could do for the demonstrators, and he couldn't help but remember his own pain when he thought of how his own sister had "moved away."  He knew that Yaone was feeling the same kind of emotions at that moment too, for both Gojyo and her had lost their older brother for the same reason.

            Everyone in the capital knew of the legends of vampires, no matter how muddled some of the stories had become – whether one chose to believe in them or not was a different story.  Hakkai and Yaone had seen enough proof to last them the rest of their lives and those of their future reincarnations.  Still, the Diet did the best they could to cover up everything, and anyone who even so much as mention the word would be sent for "Reeducation."

            "Reeducation" was the fate that awaited these protestors.  If they did not succumb to the Diet's teachings, they'd then be charged with sedition and given a dummy trial.  The trials always ended in public executions.  If their offence became even more heinous than that, they would also be "given leave to move away from the capital."

            "I'M TELLING YOU THE TRUTH!  NOT ONLY THAT, BUT THESE DEVILS HAVE INFILTRATED OUR SOCIETY, INCLUDING THE DIET!  DO NOT PRETEND TO BE IGNORANT ANYMORE!  NO ONE IS SAFE, NO ONE-"

            The old man the megaphone suddenly snatched out of his hand by a policeman and was hit over the head with it.  "Worthless scum," the officer said as he kicked the fallen figure of the bedraggled man.

            Hakkai and Yaone's eye darkened as they saw the new Chief of Police step out of the leading cop car.  It had been obvious from the moment that Captain Liang had been killed who would replace him.  The Hunters were even suspicious that he had instigated the ambush on Lirin for just that purpose.  They wouldn't put it past him.

            Chin Yisou shut the door and watched as his officers subdued the protest.  His expression was disturbingly cheerful, but it was if he was silently hoping that someone from the crowd would try to lend a helping hand.

            His gaze stopped on the two Hunters, and he smiled at them.  Whispering something quickly to his second-in-command, he walked over to where they sat.

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There are hundreds of legends about vampires, so it is hard to stick to one particular version and claim that it is the *correct* one.  The exact model of my vampires of this story is a mix of several of these legends, plus a few twists of my own.

The most important thing to remember at the moment is that there are some legends in which incredibly powerful vampires can actually go out into the sunlight.

Please let me know what you think of the chapter!  This story is a bit different from anything else I've ever done, so I appreciate any input, whether it be comments or criticisms.  Thank you for reading!

-Iapetus


	3. Chapter 02: The Boys’ Locker Room

Somewhere I Belong

A Saiyuki fan fiction by Iapetus

**Disclaimer:**  I wish I owned Saiyuki, but I doubt I'll ever have the money to even consider buying the rights to it.  Not that I'd want to take it away from Minekura-sensei, but still…

**Beta Readers:**  Truth to Madness, Orenda and Nek0-chan

Thank you for the reviews.  ^^ Review responses can be found on the website in my bio.

Quick note- as far as names go, any name that a character is using currently in the anime (with the exception of Shuuei) is the name that shall be used for the story. For example –  Sanzo never had the name Kouryuu in this story and Hakkai was never Gonou.

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Chapter 2:  The Boys' Locker Room

.

            Yaone's eyes grew wide with shock as she saw her greatest enemy walking straight towards her.  Quickly turning her attention back to her food, the female Hunter did her best to keep her cool.  There were so many things that could go wrong if she somehow misspoke – talking back to a police officer was a crime punishable by at least one night in jail.

            What she was more worried about was Hakkai.  Yaone thanked the Powers That Be that it was her facing their adversary as he approached and not her friend.  While both of them had suffered terribly by his hands, Yaone couldn't help but think that he had somehow hurt Hakkai more.

            In the background, she could hear the cries of the demonstrators resisting arrest.

            "You can't do this to us!" A lady objected as she was dragged away and put in handcuffs.  "What they are doing in there is inhuman!  What YOU'RE doing is inhuman!"

            "We have rights!  We are people not animals!  How-"

            "Shut the fuck up, you bitch!" the officer directing her to a police car slapped her across the face.  "You need to be taught a lesson."

            Yaone unconsciously tuned the protest out when she saw her friend's face.  Hakkai wasn't even pretending to smile at the moment, and the look of total hatred on his face was frightening.  From personal experience, she knew that sometimes the quiet people were the most dangerous.  Yaone couldn't help but wonder if killing the vampires brought her friend some sort of emotional release.

            She looked him in the eye and pleaded with him wordlessly not to do anything.  He wasn't stupid, but rage could cloud even the most brilliant man's mind.  While she could not stand the idea of talking at that moment, she knew it had to be done.

            Yaone cursed her luck of getting a table close to the sidewalk as she heard his footsteps approach.  Futilely pretending to have not noticed him, she suddenly became very interested in cutting a large slice of tomato in two.  Yaone did her best to will her heart to slow down, but it became impossible to concentrate.  Deep breaths didn't help much either.

             "My my, if it isn't Sha Yaone-san, the greatest flutist our capital's orchestra ever had." Many people around them started to whisper at the comment.

            "Why thank you, officer, but I'm not that good.  I simply try my best."  She smiled sweetly as she looked up from her plate.  "I am honored to even be a member of the city's orchestra."

            "I must disagree with you there, Yaone-san."  Yaone bristled slightly hearing the monster talk to her in such a familiar manner.  _He has no right to call me by my first name.  _Chin then continued.  "I heard your solo in the last performance.  It was spectacular.  You really do deserve the privilege of being the guest of honor at the Awards Ceremony."

            "Thank you, officer."

            Again, there was more whispering.  Yaone did her best to play the part of a humble and proper lady.  She stole a glance at Hakkai and her heart skipped a beat.  He was smiling again, but it was not a nice smile…

            "And, if I'm not mistaken," he continued in a lower tone, "You must be Cho Hakkai, if I remember correctly."  Yaone was having a hard time keeping the smile on her face.  There was no way this bastard didn't know Hakkai.  This whole conversation was just an act, and all three participants knew it.

            "You are correct, sir."  Hakkai said in a tone that made the flutist want to run and hide.  _That_ level of politeness was dangerous.  "And isn't it a lovely, sunny day?"

            Yaone almost choked on her lettuce.  How was Hakkai able to play these kinds of games?  She would have never been able confront the Keikan vampire about it and keep an even tone in a million years.

            Chin's smile faltered only slightly before he chuckled slightly.  "Why, does the sun make you feel safe, Cho Hakkai?"  His voice became barely a whisper as he leaned closer.  "It is never a given that the sun will shine each day, but the night always comes.  There is nothing you can do to change that."  

            He straightened up and began to walk away.  Just when Yaone was about to let out a sigh of relief, the police chief turned back around.

            "Please give both of your elder siblings my best regards next time you hear from them.  I have it on good word that they are doing well in their new homes outside the capital."  And with a final smirk, Chin Yisou went to finish observing the cleanup of the protest.

.

.

             "Goku?"

            It was twenty to one, and class was about to start up again.  Young adults were constantly reminded that punctuality was next to godliness – despite the fact that the Diet denied the existence of _any_ supernatural being.  Even if there was one class that they could choose to be tardy for, it _wouldn't_ be Math 110.

            "You stupid monkey, where did you go?" Lirin was beginning to get annoyed.  The two of them were already on bad terms with the professor, and they didn't need to make things worse.

            The eerie sensation of something not quite alive pricked at the back of Lirin's mind.  Almost immediately following that was the sensation of Goku's ki rising.  Reaching into her side bag, she felt her fingers curl around the smooth surface of her weapon.  _I guess oniisan was right,_ she admitted, _but only an idiot would attack in broad daylight…_

            Eyes growing wide, the young woman picked up her pace.  _It would be really dumb for a Keikan to attack in the middle of the day, but who else could?_  _That is, unless he was somehow battling a Weakling in a broom closet…_ Lirin sweatdropped.  The chances of that happening were one in a million.  However, she had come to realize over the past year that many things that had previously been impossible _were_ possible.

            The sound of objects falling to the ground in quick succession helped steer the Hunter to her final destination.  Pulling the spike out and throwing her side bag out of the way, Lirin grabbed the door handle only to jump slightly as something rammed into the wall from inside.

            Entering with her weapon at the ready, she was greeted by an alarming sight.  The first thing she noticed was that she had somehow found her way into the boy's locker room.  The once perfectly aligned rows were now slightly off center – a few were even lying on their side.  Almost all of them had some sort of dent and/or a scratch on its surface – marring the former perfection.

            Cracks had formed in the tile, making the Hunter wary of the debris as she moved forward.  Keeping herself alert, she crept quietly to where the last noise had been heard.  Lirin could feel the rage begin to build in her body.  Vampires had taken enough away from her as it was – she wasn't going to lose Goku too.

            It was very easy to observe how the battle went.  Judging by the path of blood, her friend had woven through the maze of lockers to where the one window in the whole room would be.  Not needing the trail anymore, Lirin hurried around the only wall of intact lockers and into the corner of the room.

            Dust could be seen swirling around in the rays of the midday sun.  Lirin mentally corrected herself – there wouldn't be any dust in the room – not the way the janitorial staff took care of the building.  Looking up to the window, she saw that the blinds were swaying slightly.

            Goku's left hand was still holding the pull string, while his right gripped a bloody spike.  He was staring down at a large pile of ashes as he fought to catch his breath.  Noticing Lirin, his expression changed to one of feigned annoyance.

            "Great timing," he let go of the pull string to wipe the sweat from his face.  They both noticed that this did more hurt than help, for there was now even more blood smeared on the man's forehead.  Goku grimaced as the result, and wiped his hands on a spot of dry pant leg.

            "Well, sorry!" Lirin shot back.  "How was I supposed to know that you were off on a last minute kill if you didn't tell me?  I want to fight too!"

            "What, you couldn't sense it all the way from the courtyard?" Goku asked, surprised.  "You're getting rusty."

            "No, and you couldn't either!  You would have told me!  You only felt it when you went to go to the bathroom!  You're just getting stupid!" she stuck out her tongue and lowered an eyelid.

            "Am not!"

            "Are too!"

            "Am not!"

            "Are too!"

            A sharp object pressed lightly against the back of Lirin's neck.  "If someone like _me_ could take your back, how did you ever manage to kill Weakling?" a voice said in a quiet and dangerous tone.  Knowing better than to flinch, she held her ground.

            "Well, I guess that it is a good sign that you two are fighting," the voicecontinued, "Even if you both are being stupid."

            "Shuuei!" Goku exclaimed, "You made it!"

            "What, so you tell Shuuei and not me?" Lirin pouted.  "Meanie!"

            "It's ok."  The elder Hunter removed the point of his spike from her neck and stepped over an upturned bench.  "Goku found out the Weakling's location moments before he was attacked.  He was able to page me, but there would have been no time to contact you."

            Half heartily glaring but not really meaning it, she nodded in understanding.  They would have needed to contact Shuuei anyways after something like this.

            "You need to be a bit more careful," he said.  "I know you care about each other's safety, but you left the door wide open.  Someone could have been passing by and seen you."

            The elder tossed Lirin's bag back to her.  "You left that in plain sight.  You have no idea how much work it's going to be covering that up."

            "I'm sorry," she apologized as she stared down at her feet.

            Shuuei gave her a reassuring smile.  "It'll be all right.  Just be more careful next time."  Lirin nodded in response.

            Whistling softly, the man continued.  "Goku you made quite a mess.  We need to get you out of here before someone else comes along."

            "But Shuuei, class is going to start up again in a few minutes!" Lirin protested.  "Can't he just wash off and stop by later?"

            "Yeah, and I have a change of clothes in here…" Goku moved towards his locker when Shuuei held out a hand to block his path.

            "What's this, the two of you wanting to go to class?  I never thought I'd see the day."

            Lirin exchanged a sheepish smile with her best friend and laughed nervously.  "Well, we aren't on the greatest terms with our math professor… and that is the class that is split during the lunch break today."

            "You hang out with people like Gojyo and your brother and you are afraid of a math professor?" Shuuei mocked gently while making his way to Goku.

            "But you don't understand!" Goku protested.

            "He controls our grades!" Lirin continued, "and he'd notice if Goku _wasn't_ there!"

            The three of them began to make their way through the mess of lockers towards the exit as the younger man continued.  "I think he thinks something's up too."

            Shuuei didn't have any humorous remark for that statement.  It was common knowledge that over half of the professors at the University were known Diet sympathizers.  The head of the math department was one of the most adamant of them.

            Remembering the advice from earlier, Lirin took care in approaching the door.  Under normal circumstances, she would have been their last choice to scope out the situation, but Shuuei was slightly too old for the classes offered today at the University, and Goku was too bloody to even be a consideration.  It showed how desperate they really were – to have a girl stick her head out of the boys' locker room.

            "How will we get past the cameras?" she could hear Goku whisper in a puzzled tone.

            "Hisui's working on it right now.  I'll double-check her work later-"

            A soft squeak of a heavy object on liquid halted the explanation.  Bloody footprints from Goku's shoes led directly to where they stood, making their path of escape easily visible.  Shuuei appeared to grow annoyed, but it was not at either of them in particular.

            "Take off your shoes, and step onto a dry spot of the floor," he commanded quickly.  Goku did as he was told, and watched with confusion as the Hunter picked up the sneakers and wrapped them in his jacket.

            "I don't want you tracking blood across the hallway.  This room is easily enough hidden while the door is closed, but we don't have time to clean up the hallway."

            Sensing the urgency in his voice, Lirin looked from left to right.  Nothing seemed out of the ordinary – the hallway was deserted, as should this area be during this time of the day.  She instinctively drew out of sight as the surveillance camera slowly pointed in her direction.

            "No, let the camera see you," Shuuei said quietly.  "She's getting this footage about thirty seconds before Security does, and she need to know when to turn off the camera."  Lirin nodded, and poked her head out again, this time letting the lens catch a glimpse of her face.  It was disturbing watching the lens refocus as it stopped – making the female Hunter's heart skip a beat.  A second later, the little red blinking light atop the machine grew dark.

            "Go!" he whispered fiercely, "You only have a few seconds before she has to turn it back on again!"  Eyeing the fire exit as the camera remained silent, she ran and opened the door.  Closing it quickly, she watched as the light came back on, and made a few more sweeps of the hallway.

            The less Hisui-hime needed to hack into the system, the better.  A few short periods of time without a picture was much less conspicuous than one larger period of time.  As the light faded again, Goku walked as fast as he could across the floor without dripping blood on it.  Shuuei soon followed during the third pass.

            When they had made it down the stairs and to the actual exit, Shuuei looked apologetically at the female Hunter.

            "I'm sorry that you'll have to cover for Goku.  Just tell your professor that Goku ate something bad and it made him sick."

            "But lunch was great!  Houmei's food is really good, she couldn't make anything bad-"

            "Goku, that isn't the point!" Shuuei cut him off.  "We don't' have time for this."  Lirin watched the two men run out of the building as the clock struck one.

            _Wait a second… one o'clock…_

            "Oh no, class is starting!"

.

.

            Sanzo sighed in contempt at the scene around him.  The alcohol seemed to almost be flowing freely to the dozens of pathetic humans that were trying to get themselves drunk.  At this time of night, it was not uncommon to see such a crowd.  There was actually usually more than this on a normal night.

            But it wasn't a normal night; it was the middle of the week.  These people didn't come out to the bar to loosen up – they were trying to drink their troubles away.  From the business suits and skirts, Sanzo assumed that these people had just gotten off work.  It was not the crowd they usually brought in.

            Looking over at the bartender he noted the solemn expression of the man's face.  He seemed to be casually consoling a man who was crying, and already drunk at the bar.

            Not wanting to bore himself, his attention slowly moved from conversation to conversation, looking for anything of interest.  Over half of the occupants' speech had begun to slur.    

            "Disgusting," he quietly commented to no one in particular.  

            It didn't take long for Sanzo to find out that most of the people in the bar had been laid off.  Jobs were nearly impossible to find in Oniori.  It was almost like giving someone a death sentence if they were fired – the name would be immediately put on a blacklist – making it almost impossible to be hired again.

            Glad that he wasn't working at the door, Sanzo slowly made his way around the room, pausing occasionally to lean against the wall.  He was about to give up when he finally heard it.

            "What did you think about that protest?" A man's voice whispered.

            "It is unfortunate – but that policeman should have just kept quiet.  Do you know how long it took to find a contact there?" a second man responded.

            The first man sighed.  "He wasn't thinking clearly.  You know how his sister had a "failed operation" awhile back.  And anyways, he didn't really know anything.  Didn't even report directly to Shuuei."

            Sanzo's blood froze.  _Shuuei?_  He had not heard that name in ages.  What did he have to do with those men?  His old friend generally kept to himself from the rest of the world when they were younger for his own safety.  Intrigued, Sanzo lit a cigarette and moved slightly closer to where the two men sat.

            "Yeah, but who _does_ report to Shuuei?  I know you don't, you just go see your apartment manager."

            "Of course not.  I don't even know where the shrine is."  Both men took a sip of their drinks before continuing.

            "Still, something worse seems to be going on."  The second man looked his companion in the eye.  "He was going to observe the protest personally, but it didn't seem like he was there."

            "How would you have known?" the first man's eyes darted around again to see if anyone was looking.  The vampire shifted his gaze to the glowing embers of his cigarette as he took another drag, feigning disinterest.  When the man appeared to be satisfied, he continued.

            "If he was actually going to come out in public for this, then it had to be big."

            The other man rolled his eyes.  "I actually heard that he had to bail that College Basketball player out of trouble.  Somehow even convinced that hacker Hisui-hime knock down the security system while he went in."

            Sanzo smirked at the statement.  These people obviously didn't know that much about Shuuei if they were surprised that he had connections to hackers.  The man had been born with the natural ability to manipulate code and break into any computer system.  His "practical jokes" as a child never ceased to frustrate their master, who was concerned for their safety.  Although it was very hard to take the man seriously when he too was laughing at what had been done.

            "College Basketball player?  I didn't know we had any contacts in the University.  Of whom are you talking about?"

            "Who else?" the man snorted.  "He's one of the Prodigy Children."

            _Shuuei's connected to a Prodigy Child?_  That single thought made him want to storm back to the shrine and demand an explanation.  _That idiot,_ Sanzo thought furiously, _He should know better than anyone else that being in contact with someone with such high profile would be suicide!_  Had Sanzo previously not vowed to avenge his Master's death before returning to his childhood home, he would have left at that moment.  He could care less about work.

             "Wouldn't he blow our cover?  He doesn't seem like he could tell a lie to save his life… Why try to get his help?"

            "He isn't like us," the other explained, "he didn't _choose_ to help."

            Sanzo watched as both men nodded in silent understanding to the unspoken statement that had been insinuated.  _What_ it had insinuated Sanzo had no idea.

            The Keikan had hoped to listen to more, but the two men rose from their seats, apparently ready to leave.  Casually standing up, he moved towards the exit and leaned against the wall.

            Sanzo watched as they paid their bill and headed in his direction.  As they passed by, he decided to be gracious enough to bless them with his advice.

            "You should whisper next time when you're trying to have an important conversation."  He smirked as both men stopped dead in their tracks.

            "We _were_ whispering-" the protest was cut off by the motion of his friend's hand.  The man looked up at the sunglasses that Sanzo wore, and blanched.

            "I could hear you from across the room."

            For a moment, the three stood there, unmoving.  Sanzo calmly continued to smoke, while he watched their scared forms in amusement.  It had been a good idea to try to have a private conversation in a crowded place such as this, but they had been careless.

            The mood was shattered by the sound of a beer bottle breaking on a table at the far side of the room.  Sanzo gave the two men one last superior look before walking over to break up the fight that had started.  After all, he was still at work, and he had a job to do.

.

.

            All the lights in the small apartment had been turned off except for a small desk lamp that was sitting on the kitchen table.  Kougaiji had become very frugal with his money over the years, and since he was never exactly sure when his next paycheck would come in, he had to stretch every cent as far as he could.  It never hurt to have a little extra money, but he didn't want to get in trouble with his landlord or any of the government-run utility companies, and he wanted to keep it that way.  He couldn't always depend on the sales of his books to provide for him, and the money he had inherited from his father was primarily going for Lirin's education and her apartment.  Kougaiji didn't want his little sister to have to try to find a job while she was going to college, and especially when she had her duties as a Hunter to think about.  Getting a job would simply be too much for her already-busy schedule.

            He knew that she wanted to support herself, but the money was as much hers as it was his.  Technically Kougaiji was the heir to his father's assets – a woman couldn't inherit anything from their family members after they died unless there were no living male relatives.  When Hakkai's parents had died, _he_ had been the one to inherit the pieces of property, not his older sister.

            The writer tossed down his mechanical pencil in frustration as it snapped in two.  _How_ was he going to make any progress on his manuscript if he couldn't even hold a damn pencil?  Kougaiji could have sworn he was barely touching the paper.  It wasn't as if he couldn't control his strength, but sometimes his mind unconsciously forgot about it while writing.  Because of this, he had given up trying to use the computer.  They had gone through four keyboards before deciding that it was a lost cause.  He didn't even want to think about the attempts he had made with pens.  It was one of the things that he hated about being a vampire – it got in the way of one of his favorite escapes.  Kougaiji was never one to shy away from reality or opt to take the easy way out, but life took its toll on everyone.  If a person did not have some kind of escape from the terrible reality that they lived in, they would probably go mad.

            Rising from his chair, the Keikan vampire walked over to the fridge and opened the door.  The bright light stung slightly at his eyes, and he again contemplated turning all of the lights off in the room.  He could maneuver perfectly well in pitch-blackness, and he also found an indescribable comfort in the dark.  Shaking his head viciously at the thought, he quickly withdrew the bottle of red wine and closed the door.

            He filled the wineglass to the three-quarters point and took his seat again at the table.  There were many other things his body wanted right now, but he refused to give into them.  While he did have some vodka in his private fridge, he hated drinking alone.  Kougaiji usually waited to do any heavy drinking until he was Hakkai or Gojyo – they were the only ones who could drink such a large quantity of alcohol and still keep their senses.  The other Hunters couldn't afford to loose their wits, and so avoided it completely.

            He grimaced as he took a sip of the vintage.  While the taste was fine, wines didn't really affect him anymore.  He'd have to stop by the Blood Bank soon – his personal supply had run out.  The main manager was aware of what was going on, and was the chief supplier of blood to the vampires who refused to directly feed on others.  It had taken Kougaiji a long time to break down and finally start feeding in that manner, but he took relief in the fact that he had not yet stooped to the level of actually biting someone.

            It wasn't as if he could leave right now anyways, Yaone was coming home soon.  Excluding the wine, he did not like to have any of his "meals" in front of her.  While they had been living together long before he became a vampire, Kougaiji knew she was still uncomfortable about her best friend's eating habits.  She refused to admit it, but it was still easy for him to tell.

            He glared down at the paper wishing yet again that the words would simply write themselves and save him the effort of going through yet another package of pencils.  When he realized that it would be impossible for him to write any more that night, he gathered his manuscript together and turned off the lamp.

            Kougaiji's boredom was getting the better of him, and he went into his bedroom to surf the Internet.  It wasn't as if he'd really find anything of interest – the Diet kept a close watch on the websites – but he could at least check some of the news sites.  He had been considering giving Tonpu a visit at his office, where he was the evening editor for _Oniori Today_.  He'd be able to get the real facts then, and not the watered down crap that they expected the people to believe.

            Instead, he was surprised to see that he had mail when he logged in.  The people he talked to on a regular basis rarely used e-mail due to the fact that it could be monitored so easily.  Kougaiji's eyebrows rose when he saw the subject of the message.  It simply said "from a fan."  The Keikan could feel his senses prickling as he looked at the return address.

            _Bunny-san?  What the hell?_  Even before he opened the message, he could feel that it contained something vile.  Not wanting his computer to crash, he quickly scanned it for a virus, but found none.  Still slightly wary, he opened it up and began to read.  His eyes grew wide and then narrowed as he scrolled down the lengthy message.  When he reached the end, he went back to the top and reread it, to make sure that he wasn't just imagining things.

.

Sir,

First of all, let me comment about your most recent book.  I know that 

it has been out for several months already, but I just have 

been 

so busy that I wasn't 

able to e-mail you until just recently.

.

Your work is 

absolutely superb – I couldn't put it down.  It is obvious 

by the Bestseller List that there are others 

who agree with me.

I do hope that the 

Diet isn't taking too big a cut out 

of 

your profits.

.

However, I was curious about 

something, sir.  Why do you 

use a penname?  Are you trying to hide 

something from the public?  

The whole capital, as well as the Empire would 

_love_ to know who you are.  Wouldn't 

it be nice to 

receive 

some acknowledgement 

to 

your 

face 

instead of by paper or e-mail?  

What is wrong with the name 

Daimyo Kougaiji?

.

People love a "rags to 

riches" story.  You inherited your 

estranged father's fortune, 

and yet choose to live in a small apartment in the middle 

class area of town.  Even if you are 

paying for your half-sister's living expenses, there 

should be enough for you to even buy a 

_house._  

Didn't your father live 

in one?  

You could have a life so much better than the one you have now.

.

Or is it because you are still 

grieving over the death 

of 

your dear mother?  I'm terribly 

sorry, that must be a 

touchy topic for you.  I heard you were quite 

the Mama's boy.  I am surprised at how dedicated you remain 

to her.  There were some 

_disturbing_

rumors of what she did in her spare time.

.

Is that why you hide, 

Kougaiji-san?  Are you 

ashamed 

of your mother because it is the truth?  And if 

not, why do you hide? Do tell.

.

Oh, and I almost 

forgot.  How is Sha Yaone-san 

doing?  I heard that she is going to be the guest of honor at 

the Awards Ceremony.  

Please offer her my regards, as well as 

my congratulations.  

You are indeed lucky to have 

a woman like that to satisfy 

you.

.

My deepest regards,

Bunny-san

_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_

I decided to structure the e-mail to look like how they sometimes actually appear – so no, it wasn't ff.net being weird (although it has been messing up my formatting in general on almost all of my stories, and has been driving me nuts… -_-;;;)

Again, let me reassure you that everything will eventually be explained.

-Iapetus


	4. Chapter 03: Coincidences

Somewhere I Belong

A Saiyuki fan fiction by Iapetus

**Disclaimer:**  If I owned Saiyuki, we'd see Sanzo in ONLY his PJs all the time.  Gotta love that leather… *evil grin*

Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! *bows* Specific review responses can be found in the link in my bio.

Sorry this chapter is a bit late, but I had to double-check on some information for the ending of this chapter, and it required me waiting until I went home for the weekend to ask my dad.

Stylistic note:

" " surround words or phrases being typed on a computer.

Definitions:

_Scratching _– in Pool, when the cue ball goes into a pocket on a player's turn

_Scratching on the 8_ – a variation of scratching.  If a player knocks the 8-ball in but also puts the cue ball in, they lose the game despite the fact that they managed to get the 8-ball in.

_Triangle_ – name for the most common pool ball rack in the game.  Used only at the beginning to help straighten out the balls.

_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_

Chapter 3:  Coincidences

.

            Shuuei sighed as he sat down into the seat next to his main computer.  It was a broken swivel chair that could no longer raise its height.  He had fallen hard on that seat one time too many from so many busy days.

            Hacking had been one of the few things that always relaxed him, and it was a bonus that he could use his skill to help the other Hunters.  Absentmindedly fumbling for the lever to raise his seat up, he was reminded for the second time in that short time span that his chair had not worked in months.  Sighing, he grabbed the keyboard and set it on his lap.

            The cord attached to the keyboard knocked against the mouse, clearing the monitor of the screensaver.  Quickly pushing the door to the small room shut, Shuuei turned his face to the only light source of the room, his main computer screen.

            Almost immediately, he opened the first of several windows on his tool bar.  As he scrolled down the list of numbers, he could already begin to feel his muscles relax.  Every now and then, he'd stop to look at a number a bit closer, but he never stayed at one spot for long.

            Satisfied with the results, he maximized a second window and began to look at the information more carefully.  Pulling up a list of numbers from a personal file, he programmed the computer to do a search for any matches.

            As Shrine Abbot and official leader of the Hunters, he had a duty to protect them all.  It was him who guarded the Holy Water, and helped bail others out when they were having a problem.  In reality, Shrine Abbots had never been able to do that much in terms of actual fighting because they were supposed to stay and guard the Holy Water.  However, because of his special abilities, Shuuei could do much more than that.

            His master had been regarded as the greatest Abbot ever, but the man had never been good with computers.  Shuuei's main goal was to keep the Hunters actions hidden from the Diet by means of manipulating data.

            The main issue for the Hunters was one of privacy.  Two kinds of walls for housing existed in Oniori – paper thin and soundproof.  Those that lived in the cheaper apartments were always at risk of being turned in by a neighbor if anything suspicious seemed to be happening.

            Soundproof walls were of the second variety, but in some ways they were much worse.  Microphones were installed in a hidden location in every one of the apartments – and the recordings were later screened for "taboo words."If someone was caught like that… it was worse than the witch hunts of the paper-thin neighborhoods.

            The Diet would pick 5000 "sound proof" apartments at random each week to monitor.  Because it would look suspicious if the same people _never_ got monitored, Shuuei would just make the time periods between monitoring sessions for Hunters a bit longer.  On average, about four Hunter residences were observed a week.

            The search program had finished its function, revealing three columns of names.  The first list was by far the longest, and the one that the hacker completely ignored.

            Shifting his attention to the second column, he examined it much more closely.  It was a list of the residences of every Hunter, sympathetic vampire and aware human in the capital.  Shuuei began to modify the status of the list, taking over half of the names off the "random selector" for the week.

            He began typing furiously as he eyed the last list.  Shuuei had felt helpless when he first became a Hunter – the position of Abbot had left him grounded to the shrine.  It infuriated him that he was sitting around while the others were putting their lives in danger.

            Soon afterwards he had started to hack into the Diet's databases for more information and found out about the surveillance system.  It was then that he had started to monitor how the operation system worked.  As the Hunters began to write a list of all known vampires, Shuuei finally found his hunting method.

            Using the "random selection" method as a tool, the hacker would also manipulate the information of the vampires.  Picking up a few of the more troublesome targets, Shuuei tried to go after the vampire his Hunters couldn't touch.  He would purposely take their names off every single week – making the Diet suspicious of their targets for "tampering with private information."  While there _were_ vampires in the Diet, most of them kept to themselves.  The government was more than happy to get rid of some of the more bothersome disturbers of the peace – and would unknowingly do the Hunter's job for him.

            Shuuei knew that his other hacker friends who were helping in the fight would have been doing this long ago – if it wasn't for the fact that someone else had already tried.  When the vampire in question had been executed, a hacker friend of Shuuei's was transformed into a Creature of the Night himself.  Because the manipulation had been the hacker's fault, the blood has figuratively fallen on his friend's hands.

            So in the end by this method, the Abbot's hands were as red as any other Hunter.  He still needed to purify himself after he got word of his target's deaths, just like the others.  It made him feel a bit better that he was doing his part, but hiding behind a computer screen still made him feel like a coward sometimes.

            A new screen popped up, prompting him to type in a password.  Immediately recognizing the layout to the program, he smiled and began to hack around it looking for the key.

            It took less than a minute for him to find it.  When the screen completely opened up, it looked suspiciously like an Instant Messaging program.  He could see that the person on the other side was already typing a message.

            You're slowing down, Rikudo.  Don't tell me that you're getting lazy.  ^^

            He smiled in response.  Never, He typed.  The program was just very good today.  You made some good modifications, Hisui.

            The Abbot knew that the hacker would probably be blushing at that moment.  He was talking to Hisui-hime, The Jaded Princess, of whom he called just "Hisui" for short.  She was his right-hand man – _woman_ he corrected himself – and he found her modesty highly amusing.

            It isn't like I'm at your level, she responded.  Not even the Diet has people that can break through any of your programs.  At the simple mention of "Rikudo" the officials tremble in fear.

            Rikudo was his online alias – his hacker name that he established for himself soon after becoming a Hunter.

            lol.  Flatterer, he chuckled slightly.  How are you doing?

            Ok, relatively.  Input and output are out of sync again, and the bank's going to have a shortage very soon.

            Well, people aren't going to come in droves to see you, especially after that demonstration two days ago. You can expect that people would be scared.  Hisui was the main manager of Oniori's Blood Bank, and was the primary source of sustenance for the vampires aiding the Hunters.

            I understand, but you know I have to put the patients first.  We'll have another shortage if it continues like this.

            We can't _afford_ to have that happen again.  If we loose any more Hunters like _that_… Shuuei shuddered.  That particular fiasco had been six months ago, and he still had nightmares about it.

            How did you do on the video files? he continued, deciding to change topics.

            I'm not sure.  I did the best job that I could, but the code was especially complex and hard to crack.  There was something about the way the message arrived to his screen that made him apprehensive.  Shuuei didn't know if omens were real or not, but something about the response disturbed him…   If you could take a look at it I'd appreciate it.  Something doesn't seem right about it.

            No problem.  I was planning on doing so anyways.  The hacker paused to crack his knuckles. Anything else happening?

            It was a minute before she responded.  Tonpu stopped by again today.

            He could almost see her expression in his mind's eye.  She would be exasperated and quiet with anger – even if it was not aimed directly at the Weakling himself.

            I thought he didn't like getting blood bags.  Very few vampires had the self-discipline to take only what they needed.  Tonpu only came to the Blood Bank when he absolutely needed to pass on some information, and did not have time to see Gojyo.

            Well, apparently he was hungry, Hisui responded cryptically.  Shuuei, it's only a rumor, but something big seems to be going on in his office.

            The Hunter's jaw dropped slightly.  If she addressed him by his real name, then it had to be serious.  He decided to respond in kind.

            There are always going to be rumors, Shunrei.  What exactly are you talking about?

            Someone e-mailed the newspaper with a story idea, and it has all of the reporters excited.  They want to do a series of articles on the lives of the best authors in the Empire, and guess who's on the list?

            The woman's sarcasm has always been very light in normal conversation.  To say it like this… Shuuei frowned.  _Goddammit…_  … but there isn't any information out there for him.  The Diet is actually on our side for this – you know that getting that information against his will is one of the forms of identity theft, he responded.

            Apparently that doesn't matter.  The reporters have already started to bribe some officials.  Tonpu has been messing with the records, but you know that won't hold them forever.

            …  Why didn't Tonpu come to me directly about this?  He's one of the few people besides you who has the ability to.

            You know why… Shunrei responded simply.  Either way, I don't know when I'm going to see Kougaiji next, and you see him much more often than I do.

            Of course.  I'll give him the warning.  He glanced at the clock in the corner of his computer screen and sighed.  Something told him that he should really talk to Shunrei more, but a Hunter was about to come for their weekly purification.  The Shrine Abbot couldn't ignore his duties.

            I'll talk to you later, he typed quickly.  Keep a lookout on that security system if you're nervous about it.  I agree with you, something doesn't feel right.

.

.

            "So, what's up for tonight?"  Gojyo asked eagerly as he took his traditional seat in the worn leather chair.  The vampire relaxed as the cushions conformed to the shape of his body.  Sighing in relief, he closed his eyes lightly.

            "I'm actually not too sure," Hakkai responded from the kitchen.  "I got two different vintages from room 406, and I was going to wait until Kougaiji got here to ask his opinion."

            "You'd ask his opinion before your best friend?" the vampire pouted playfully, pretending to take offense.

            "Yes, well I _know_ what you'd like, but we should still hold it up to a democratic vote.  It's only fair."  Gojyo could hear his friend's footsteps enter the room, and then place two bottles on the table.  What they were exactly he could only guess, because his eyes were still closed and he was feeling too lazy to open them and check.

            "Does 406 _always_ give you wine?  He needs a bit of variety.  "You know that stuff isn't strong enough to help quench _my_ thirst," Gojyo smirked.

            Hakkai seemed to ignore that last comment as he explained.  "He _is_ a wine connoisseur – he doesn't get the hard liquor like you do at the bar.  And it is one of the ways we agreed that he'd pay for part of his rent, so I don't see a problem with it."  The tone was final, and Gojyo knew it would be pointless to continue arguing.

            "Do you at least have anything a bit harder for later?" he complained.  "Otherwise I think I'm going to run out and get some before we start."

            "There's no need for that.  I just recently bought some Gin.  It would just be nice to start out with some a bit more… refined."  He smiled innocently, but Gojyo knew full that it was anything but.

            "Just what are you saying, Hakkai?" his eyes opened as he glared at his friend.  "I can be refined!"

            "Heh, sure you are."  Both of the men turned to face their new arrival who had just spoken.  Kougaiji's sudden appearance was not unexpected – Gojyo had felt his approach for the last several minutes.  Hakkai actually preferred the two Keikans to not use his front door.  While Shuuei was able to turn off the security system in his apartment, he couldn't risk doing so in the halls.  No matter what kind of vampire the creature in question was, their forms would not be picked up on camera.  It would look odd if Hakkai opened up his door _twice_ for "no one."  And since vampires had such a way with shadows… they could get into his apartment without using the front door.

            Kougaiji smiled slightly as he read the labels of the two bottles.  "Your tenant must really like you – those are both very good years."  He moved to take his seat across from Hakkai.  "You can't get those in stores."

            "Well then, why don't we indulge a little bit?" Smiling, the Hunter uncorked the first bottle and filled their wineglasses three-quarters full.

            "I think we should drink to something," he continued as he offered them their drinks.

            "What to?" Kougaiji questioned.  Gojyo had been wondering the same thing.  There hadn't been much in the way of encouraging things that had happened recently.

            Hakkai leaned back in his chair to think.  "I don't know," he admitted, "that's why I asked you two."

            Gojyo smirked.  "Well, how about we drink to trying to think of better toasts next time?"

            The three considered it for a moment, and then clinked their glasses together.

            "So," Hakkai continued, "anything of interest happening?"

            Kougaiji's expression soured.  "I take it then you two didn't hear about last night?"

            The two othersshook their heads.  While attacks happened almost every single night, no Hunter or vampire ever heard about _every single one_ when they happened.

            "Shuuei hadn't heard from some contacts in a few days, so he asked Yaone and I to check up on them."  He paused to breathe deeply before elaborating.  "There's been another ambush."

            Hakkai eyed his best friend before speaking.  "How many does this make it?"  Ambushes were not unheard of while hunting vampires, but there had been an abnormal amount in the past few months.  The ones in the last three weeks had been especially bloody…

            "Who can say anymore?" Gojyo remarked gloomily.  "I lost count awhile back."  He looked at Kougaiji with suspicion.  "They're gone, aren't they?  Our contacts?"  The silence that followed spoke more than his fellow Keikan ever could.

            "Who did we lose?" Hakkai asked quietly.

            Gojyo could tell that he was mentally counting as he took another sip of wine.  "Three Weaklings, two Hunters and four Aware humans."

            "It kind of makes you begin to think who _hasn't_ been ambushed yet," Hakkai said solemnly.

            Gojyo laughed darkly.  "I can see the monkey or the little brat being taken by _surprise-_" he began.

"No, but Goku and Lirin are both too good to fall into the old ambush traps, even if they are still the rookies," Hakkai finished.  "There's something more organized about it."

            "And the fact that every single target recently has been somehow connected to us?" Kougaiji noted.  

            "I _still_ say that it has to be some vampire on the inside.  More than one by the looks of it, too," Gojyo commented.

            "Of course they are," Kougaiji said, "Chin Yisou just got that promotion and he just _happened_ to run into Yaone and you," he nodded to Hakkai, "during the protest.  I wouldn't be surprised if there were others."

            "But what can we do about it?  You know that Shuuei has hit a wall when it comes to the Diet's database.  No matter how hard he tries he can't crack the innermost system – and he is the best hacker in the Empire," the Hunter pointed out.

            There was an uncomfortable pause as the three of them silently examined the situation.  Gojyo knew that they wouldn't get anywhere else on the ambushes that night – he'd have to wait to talk to Tonpu later that week for more information.  _I might have to go out and check some stuff out myself…_ the Keikan considered.  Until then, they had something much more important to discuss.

            "I heard that you broke another computer mouse," Gojyo commented to Kougaiji.  He cut the Keikan off as he tried to retaliate to the statement.  "Yaone found it in the trash."

            "When did you talk to her?" he remarked dangerously.  The vampire probably didn't even realize in the change of his attitude.

            Gojyo's eyebrows rose.  "What, I can't even talk to my own little sister?"  Kougaiji's reaction still had him surprised.  His fellow vampire was so determined to hold onto his humanity that he was denying his… darker… instincts.  The fact that they were beginning to surface subconsciously…

            Well, no one ever said that Kougaiji didn't have willpower.  He held the record as the vampire who has abstained the longest from blood after transforming.  True, later he _did_ break down and start feeding off of blood bags, but Gojyo still admired him for it.  If Kougaiji had been any bit lesser of a man, he wouldn't even let him near Yaone, much less let them be friends.

            However, the remark about his sister seemed to have jarred something in Kougaiji's mind as Gojyo continued.  " What the hell has you that pissed?"

            The vampire's eyes narrowed, which took the other two by surprise.  "It must have been bad then, if you were to break a mouse over it," Hakkai noted.  "I guess you really don't know your own strength if you were gripping it that tightly."

            Gojyo grinned darkly as he watched the emotions change in Kougaiji's face.  _There's no way he'll be able to get mad at Yaone, no matter how hard he tries._  She was simply concerned about him, and knew that her older brother and other best friend would be able to somehow weasel the problem out of him.

            After a moment of hesitation, Kougaiji pulled out a folded piece of paper and threw it on the table.  Hakkai tentatively picked it up and unfolded it carefully.

            It appeared to be several sheets of paper folded together, and from the angle Gojyo was at, it also looked like a print out of an e-mail.

            Gojyo watched as Hakkai read it over, and how his eyes seemed to widen and narrow at certain points.  After finishing, he wordlessly handed it over to his best friend.

            Reading it quickly, the Keikan could also sense his eyes react in the same fashion.  "Bunny-san?  Who _is_ this psycho?"  Throwing the printed e-mail back onto the table, he openly glared at it with the others.  If Gojyo ever found out who sent it… they'd regret the day they did.  _No one_ talked about his little sister like that.  He wouldn't allow it.

            "I'm going over to the shrine later tonight to ask Shuuei to trace the e-mail address."Kougaiji said simply.

            "He mentioned the Awards Ceremony.  Chin Yisou brought it up too when he talked to us at the protest," Hakkai made no attempt to mask the disgust he felt for the new Chief of Police. 

            "I really wish she hadn't been nominated," he continued.  "Yaone gets enough attention as it is being a Prodigy Child."

            "The rest of the orchestra are a bunch of cowards," Gojyo said, "They don't want to get pushed into the lime light and chose her as a scapegoat.  You know she couldn't refuse."

            "It wasn't an option," Kougaiji said dryly.  "The conductor practically begged her to."

            "It isn't his style, though," Gojyo began, "Chin Yisou would never send an e-mail out anonymously like that."

            "What would he want to do with Kougaiji?  I can understand Yaone, but the e-mail makes it sound like he isn't _that_ familiar with her."

            "He knows of the rumors about my mother too."  Gojyo noted that out of respect for Hakkai and his property, Kougaiji had set down his wine glass on the table.  Had it actually been in his hand, the glass would have probably shattered by now.

            Hakkai refilled his own glass and stared hard at the liquid.  "I'd love to say that it's all a big horrible coincidence," he said finally, "but we all know that they don't exist.  They never did."

.

.

            He was in his element.

            Oblivious to the looks of hidden jealousy around him, Goku slowly walked around the pool table, analyzing how to go about his next shot.  It had been a very good game, and the young man knew he was about to win.

            The more he looked at the setup, he realized that if he did not win on this turn, he would set up his opponent for the perfect angle to get it in.  Making his decision, Goku finally opted on a backhand shot.

            "8-ball, corner pocket."  The small talked vanished as he swung the cue behind his back and set himself up.  Other games seemed to have halted as well to watch the young man finish up the game.

            The sound of the cue hitting the 8-ball seemed abnormally loud in the crowded pool bar.  Dozens of eyes watched with great interest as the solid black ball rolled toward the pocket in question –

            …and fell in.

            Several people started to cheer, but were quickly shut up by their neighbors as they saw the cue ball rolling towards the opposite side pocket.  If Goku scratched on the 8…

            The young man grinned as the white ball stopped less than an inch from the edge.  Cheers were now in full swing as his opponent offered his hand over the table to shake.

            "Good game," the man commented as Goku took his hand.  "I can see why they call you the "Double Prodigy.""

            "It's a good thing that he isn't around during Basketball season, otherwise _none_ of us would ever have any money!" a spectator joked.

            "There's no way he could come by on-season," another young man put in.  "Does Coach still work you guys like dogs?"

            People began moving back to their own games, but the Hunter had a feeling that they would come back again once the next game was further along.  A small group of men still remained as the others left, looking at him expectantly.

            Picking up the twenty dollars thrown down by his opponent, he left his own still on the side rail and stuffed his winnings in his pocket, waiting for the next challenger.

            "What, you _still_ won't play me?" the young man from before, a former classmate of Goku's named Shing, asked.  "I don't get to see you that often anymore and was _hoping_ that we could hang out…"

            To both of their disgust, a man staggered up and slapped a bill on the rail.  "I'm next…" he said.  "If you want to play him you have to get in line."  His speech was slurred, and he reeked of cheap beer.

            "It wouldn't be fair… for you to hog him, Shing." He spoke slowly.  "There's always a line to play the "Double Prodigy"…"

            Goku felt himself redden slightly at the statement, and then have to stifle the urge to laugh.  As a Prodigy Child, he had been deemed to have "remarkable ability" in the area of athletics – more specifically Basketball.  The Diet didn't give this title to pool sharks.  Those that frequented the pool bars of Oniori gave the term "Double" to him.

            "Hey, I promised you a game – you'll get it.  I don't go back on my word."  As Goku turned away, he almost missed the satisfied smirk on this companion's face.  The man didn't seem to notice that he saw it, though.

            Pulling all of the balls out of the pockets, the drunken man put them in the triangle and attempted to line it up.  Taking pity on the man, Goku moved to correct the placement and motioned for his opponent to get ready to take his turn.  Subconsciously, he felt a twinge of relief distancing himself between Shing and him.

            Goku let the drunk break, and watched in amazement as a solid actually went in.  Either it was dumb luck or this man was a _really_ good actor…

            As his opponent hiccupped and stumbled around the table for his next turn, the Hunter amended that previous statement.  _There's no way he's faking it.  He's like Gojyo when he's drunk off his ass…_

            Sure enough, the man missed his next shot by several inches and it had been a fairly simple one too.  Goku did his best not to laugh out loud.  The man would feel bad enough about missing such an easy shot on his own, and especially after giving the "Prodigy" a chance to get into the game too.

            He had knocked three striped balls in before missing, and went off to the side to find Shing holding two beers.  Goku shook his head in refusal as he was silently offered one.  "No thanks, I don't drink."  There was no way he could even consider trying to drink tonight – not while out working on a kill.  He had zero tolerance for alcohol anyways.

            "C'mon, its on me," the man insisted.  "You're off-season, so let yourself loosen up a bit."

            "No really, it's ok," he reassured.  Both bottles had already been opened.  Goku didn't want to think about what might have been done to them.

            Shing shrugged and set the offered bottle next to Goku on the table they were standing near.  "Well, in case you change your mind…"

            Goku wasn't going to change his mind.  He had always hated the smell of beer.  It wasn't like he could have some anyways – Hunters were required to remain sober at all times.

            "So how's Math 110 without lil' old me?" he continued conversationally.  "The professor still being a bastard?"

            The Hunter winced inwardly at the question.  Tomorrow would be the first time since the locker room incident that he would have the class.  From what Lirin and Houmei had told him after he left, his return wasn't going to be pretty.

            "I _hate_ math," Goku stated vehemently as he went to take his next shot.

            _Damn, for someone so bad he's really making my shots difficult…_ Goku commented to himself silently about his opponent.  Of course, this gave him a bit of a challenge, and Son Goku was never one to back down on a challenge.

            Aiming for the black rail, the cue bounced off the side at an angle, and gently knocked the targeted striped ball into the corner pocket.  He then reported the same sort of maneuver to knock another ball in before he missed again.

            Shing leered at him.  "Not good with math?  Then how can you do those angle shots?"

            "_That _stuff makes sense," Goku said simply, as if the statement explained itself.

            "So you're a real-life application kind-of-guy.  That's cool, but I thought you got bad grades in Geometry too…"

            "The professor marked me down because he couldn't read my handwriting – uh, sir?  Do you really want to do that?"  Goku's statement had been interrupted by the action of his opponent.  He was aiming for the 8, but the 1, 5 and 6 were still on the table.

            "Don't tell me how to play the game!" he snapped back.  "I'm an expert!  You won't be called the "Double Prodigy" after _I_ get through with you!"  He then burped and kept on aiming for the 8-ball.

            Goku turned to comment to Shing, but found his companion staring very hard at the drunk.  His eyes did not blink, and the Hunter could almost see his "friend's" eyes take on a glow of molten copper.

            The drunk seemed unnaturally dazed – even for his physical state – as he took his shot.  The cue was steady in his hand, and the 8-ball rolled into the pocket.  It had been an amazing shot – and Goku would have appreciated it more for his opponent had he not just thrown the game.

            "Well… uh… I guess that's it," the drunk said in an indifferent tone.  "I'll go now…"

            Goku watched in astonished silence as his former opponent took his leave.  As the door shut behind him, things suddenly seemed much quieter.

            The once busy pool hall was now empty.  Even the bartender had taken his leave.  It was eerie, and Goku didn't like it.  He had always been able to handle the actual fights without problem, but it was this waiting that would kill him.

            _Hypnosis…_  His eyes slammed shut as he began to go through the mental exercises to release himself from the trick.  Breaking oneself out of hypnosis was ten times harder than resisting it in the first place.  Playing pool and talking with his old "friend" had lowered his guard.

            He should have known better.

            Mind slipping away, he felt like he was trying to go uphill in a mudslide.  Goku searched frantically for a point of reference – something to jar his mind back to reality.

            He was dimly aware of Shing's approach.  With each step, Goku could only feel repulsed.  He _couldn't_ die like this…

            Images of a blood-splattered room seemed to freeze the mud that clogged his brain.  Lirin kneeling next to a body, trying futilely to shake it awake.  Tears were streaming down her face as she sobbed their best friend's name.

            The memory was so real, it was almost as if he could feel his own tears on his face again…

            _No, Lirin and I promised each other that we'd avenge him… I CAN'T DIE HERE!_

            Eyes snapping open, he glared at Shing with undisguised hatred.  The Weakling seemed shocked at the angry tears gathering in his "victim's" eyes as they were blinked away quickly, and that he was able to break through his illusion.

            It was then that Goku realized how far the vampire had gotten.  He could feel his throat throb as the creature's hand pressed against it.  The Hunter smacked the arm away in disgust and jumped back.  There was no reason to keep up the act now.

            Red eyes narrowing, the vampire lunged forward.  Goku quickly withdrew his spike.  As always, he felt incredibly apprehensive that the weapon could do any good against such a fearsome opponent.

            _Goku you idiot!_ He insulted himself, _he's using hypnosis again!_  The Hunter reminded himself of his fight only two days ago in the locker room.  Yes, he _could_ kill a vampire with his spike…

            Holding tightly to the image of Lirin besides his friend's body, he grabbed a ball off the pool table and threw it at the vampire's head.

            Even with his enhanced abilities as a Hunter, the object was simply too slow and the vampire caught it as it passed by his head.

            "And here I thought you were supposed to be the Prodigy Child of Sports – I guess that is a bad assumption.  You can't pitch worth jack shit."  

            "That's why I went out for Basketball, you asshole," he shot back.  Something told Goku in the back of his mind that he wasn't going to be able to kill this Weakling with just his spike.  Quickly glancing around the room, he grinned and put his weapon away.

            Shing then threw the pool ball back so fast that Goku barely had time to dodge.  He dove under the table in an attempt to avoid the returned pool ball.  Missing his head by only inches, the Hunter watches as the projectile rammed into the carpet and cracked in two.  He watched as some of the shrapnel flew past his face and tore into the green felt of the table he was using to keep his distance.__

_            One of this place's main attractions is that they carry the best brand of billiard balls in the world, _he remembered.  _They are supposed to not even break when thrown against concrete.  If he can crack them on a carpet floor… oh CRAP!_

            His thoughts were interrupted as Shing quickly tipped the table over in an attempt to crush him.  The earsplitting sound of afive hundred pound slab of slate shattering into a thousand pieces echoed ominously through the deserted game room.  _Maybe luring him in here was a bad idea after all…_

            "Now Goku, I'd _really_ hate to ruin that cute face of yours.  It would be so much better for the both of us if you just gave up now," the vampire taunted in a playful voice.  "I don't bite… hard."

            From where he lay, the young man felt like he was trapped between a rock and a hard place.  As Shing advanced, his mind reeled for options.

            Eyeing the tear in the felt on the fallen table, he pulled hard at it, letting a large rip form.  As the chunks of slate fell at his feet, he grabbed an especially large and jagged piece and sliced at Shing's throat.

            Goku knew that the hit would not do any damage, but the shock of actually being injured by a "human" gave him enough time to maneuver out of his previous location and get to his feet.  The Hunter could already see the blood cease to flow as the wound healed itself.  The only injury a Hunter knew they could inflict that would remain would be the final blow to the heart.  After all, they were still "only" human, and all other wounds were healed instantly.

            Picking up the discarded cue stick from earlier, he defiantly looked the vampire in the eye.  "That was my favorite pool table, you jerk.  How could you?"

            The vampire smirked.  "Really?  Do you care that much more about a pool table than your own life?  Because I'd be glad to take it from you if you do not want it."  His face then darkened.  "But I'm going to make you pay first for even _thinking_ about injuring me, much less doing so."  Rushing Goku, he extended his claws and aimed for the Hunter's heart.

            Wielding the cue stick like a bo, he feinted an attack for the head with the top of the cue.  Shing slashed at the cue as he moved out of the way, splintering the top of the stick and slicing off the tip.  The Hunter grinned as he swung the lower half of his makeshift bo, using the uneven weight distribution to knock the vampire's feet out from under him.  Taking the advantage, Goku moved quickly to stand over _his_ prey, this time being the one to smirk.

            With one swift motion, he drove the splintered end of the cue stick into the vampire's heart, pinning him to the ground.  Blood slowly seeped out of the wound, staining the pieces of green felt and gray slate that lay around him.

            "But… how… can… you…" the creature sputtered out, blood now trickling out of the corners of his mouth.  "How can you… kill… and not be… like… me?"

            Goku's eyes narrowed as he watched the life drain out of his former classmate's eyes.  The Hunter felt that he should have been feeling something – regret possibly – but _something._  All he could think of as he looked down at the corpse of his most recent kill was hate.

            _I'm sorry we never "played" a game, Shing,_ he apologized sarcastically, _but my promise to Lirin comes first._

            Taking one of the larger strips of torn felt, Goku did his best to wipe the blood off of his hands.  He had been lucky and only slightly splattered – but even if he had not gotten anything on him he'd still have to go purify himself.

            Speaking of which – he needed to get out of there.  Now that the vampire had been killed, his hypnosis would soon wear off.  People would wander back in.  Goku felt sorry for the poor owner, and making a mess of his place.

            Despite the fact that Goku had successfully killed his quarry, there was something eating him at the back of his mind.  Something didn't feel right.  It was as if he hadn't really killed one at all.  In fact, there seemed to be more…

            Hand on the handle, the Hunter opened the door quickly that lead into the back alley only to see seven sets of red eyes staring back at him.

            "Oh shit…"

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About the billiard balls that don't break when thrown against concrete – I wasn't making that up.  They exist, and are made of Cast Phenolic Resin – a form of almost "super" plastic.

I didn't think about it until my prereader was going over this – not everyone knows the rules to pool.  *sweatdrop*  I grew up around the game, so it came naturally to me…

Special thanks to Cloud 1-3-5 for help with the fight scene (getting over my writer's block), Orenda with the wording, and my dad for a few of the details about pool tables I was still unsure about.  ^^

Comments and criticisms are _always_ appreciated! ^^

-Iapetus


	5. Chapter 04: The Other Option

Somewhere I Belong

A Saiyuki fan fiction by Iapetus

**Disclaimer:**  Nope, still don't own Saiyuki.

This chapter was delayed because of studying for finals, and the fact that I REALLY wanted to nail this chapter.  It came out VERY different than I originally intended, but I REALLY like how it finally decided to write itself.  Sanzo/Goku fans, eat your heart out.  *evil grin*

I usually try to update on the weekend, but due to the fact that I finally finished it, I decided to post it now.  ^^  Review responses can be found in the link in my bio.  Thank you to everyone for reviewing!

**_WARNING:_**  _If you so choose to interpret it as such, there is a bit of a citrus scene in this chapter.  Incredibly slight (not enough to be considered lime so I'm not upping the rating yet), but I thought I should warn you all._

Please make sure you read the note at the end of the chapter. 

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Chapter 4:  The Other Option

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            _It's so different than it was a few days ago,_ Sanzo thought to himself.  He knew perfectly well that it was because it was much earlier in the evening, but it didn't shake the odd sense of déjà vu that he had while walking down the streets from his apartment.

            Vampires always grew restless when dusk came, and were often out as soon as the sun set.  Sanzo was no different – if he stayed in his apartment at night he'd go stir crazy.  It was the reason he had gotten a job in the first place even if he didn't need the money – it gave him something to do.  Sometimes he wondered if boredom could kill vampire as well as a man like the saying said…

            Most of the time on his nights off, the Keikan would often wander the streets in an attempt to find an area where he could be by himself yet still be outdoors.  However, there were occasions where he could feel his instincts overpower him.  Sanzo's body had never obeyed his mind, and despite the fact that he did not want to be around people, he'd be overcome with an anxiety to suddenly be in close proximity of them.  In a somewhat strained compromise, he'd simply walk through some of the more crowded sidewalks.  He tried to avoid going to bars – he got enough of that at work.

            Tonight was different than either type of night, though.  Sanzo's thoughts had been consumed with the conversation he had heard earlier at work.  He had suspected that something might be going on, that some sort of resistance had been formed against the vampires, but he was still taken aback at the idea of Shuuei leading the organization.  That man was the one person he had ever really considered to be a friend, but Sanzo had hoped that he would not have been affected by the "accused souls."

            He had planned on one day going back to the shrine and telling his friend what had happened that night three years ago – but it would be _after_ he avenged his master.  Now that he knew that Shuuei knew about vampires, Sanzo began to question himself.  Would it really be alright for him to go back?  If Shuuei knew the Truth, then he'd be able to handle what the vampire had to tell him.

            All of this led him back to the reason he was out tonight.  He knew perfectly well from the rumors he heard at work that the Prodigy Child of Sports liked to frequent the pool halls in his off season.  If Shuuei indeed had connections with him, they he would be Sanzo's best source for information.  The men he had eavesdropped on weren't really that well informed.  They simply flaunted their information to help make themselves feel more important.  Those kinds of people disgusted him.

            Son Goku, on the other hand, was an entirely different story.  Goku had appeared to be a "what-you-see-is-what-you-get" kind of person, so the thought of a prodigy child going against the Diet greatly intrigued him.

            As he neared the fourth pool hall that he had approached so far that night, he noted that something seem to be… off… about it.  The building seemed to be completely deserted.

            _That isn't possible,_ he reasoned to himself, _this is one of the busiest halls._  When he focused his senses closer on the area, Sanzo realized that the surrounding businesses had several more customers than they were used to.

            Sighing in disgust, Sanzo continued on in the direction of the "vacant" building.  Some vampires could really get sloppy in their hunting, especially when they traveled in packs.  There were seven of them, and they seemed to be converging on a single human.  It was going to be a massacre.

            Or so he thought.

            The pack had moved onto the human with a precision that Sanzo knew could only come with time, and was a sure way to take out their target.  It was why he was surprised when the first one to fall was one of the Weaklings.

            _Che, they must really be stupid if they started to fight amongst themselves,_ the Keikan thought logically.  Vampires did not generally work well together, and it was why most Creatures of the Night kept to themselves.  But when a second Weakling fell, he could feel his suspicions growing.  The human's ki had been rising, but there was no way that a human could have killed a vampire.  The moment they would, they'd cease to be humans themselves.

            Sanzo found himself running the rest of the way to the pool hall, only to pass right by it and head for the alley at the back of the building.  He couldn't believe his eyes.

            The person he had been searching for all night was right there in front of him – weaving through the mass of Weaklings and slowly killing them all.  Two bodies already lay on the ground, bloody holes where their hearts used to function.  A glint of silver caught his eye, and he saw Son Goku use what appeared to be a foot long spike to impale yet another Weakling.  The spike triggered something in Sanzo's memory, and he tried to place exactly where he had seen it before.

            Yet another presence brought Sanzo to attention as he looked to the top of the building.  A new Keikan had arrived, and by the looks of it, he was the master of all of the Weaklings in the alley.  The blonde-haired vampire also had the feeling that this was the other Keikan's territory to begin with, so yet again he found himself as a trespasser.

            Goku seemed oblivious to the presences of the two powerful vampires as he continued to fight the Weaklings.  Both Keikans were mystified at how this _human_ was able to actually _kill_ vampires and retain his humanity.  In the city of Oniori, no one could explain why, but if a human knowingly took the life of another person, whether human or vampire, they would be transformed into a vampire themselves.  It was one reason the Diet's most important rule was "Do Not Kill."  As the last Weakling fell, Sanzo took a moment to get a good look at the young man.

            His appearance was so much different than Sanzo had ever seen on TV or in the magazines.  The Prodigy Child had apparently been originally dressed for a night on the town, however now his clothes were torn and covered in blood.  Yet, as he examined the young man's body closer, he could see no physical injuries.  _The blood must have all been the Weaklings'…_  That actually made sense – the only wound a vampire wanted to draw blood from was from the neck – and they would unconsciously make sure that their victim was not injured in any other way.

            As Goku fought to catch his breath, he looked up and saw Sanzo for the first time.  The Keikan was staring at him, and the man's golden eyes widened in surprise.  His gaze seemed concentrated on Sanzo's sunglasses.  Goku's expression became confused, almost as if he wanted to ask the vampire a question.

            Before he even had the opportunity to speak, the other Keikan seemed to instantly materialize behind the human and grabbed both of his wrists.  The other Keikan continued to tighten his grip on the arm with the spike, eventually forcing Goku to let his weapon fall to the ground.

            "You know, you did put on a quite a performance back there," the other vampire said idly.  "Thank you for the entertainment."  With one quick motion, he forced Goku's arms behind his back and held them tight with his right hand.  His left began to brush the young man's neck with his fingers in anticipation of what he was about to do.

            "Keep your filthy hands off of me, you pervert," Goku spat as he still futilely tried to wrench his way out of his captor's grasp.

            The vampire laughed.  "Really?  That isn't any way to talk to me."  His finger trailed from the human's upper neck to his chin as he forced the man to look him in the eye.  "You don't know what you're missing."  By the extreme concentration in the vampire's face, Sanzo could tell that he was trying to put the human under hypnosis.

            _He's fighting off the hypnosis,_ Sanzo thought, amazed.  _That's supposed to be impossible…_

            Either way, he had had enough of this other vampire.  Sanzo couldn't have the only reliable connection to Shuuei that he knew of get killed or worse.

            "What do you think you're doing?" he asked in a lofty voice.  The other vampire had been so concentrated on his prey that he seemed to have forgotten completely about Sanzo's presence.  The unfamiliar Keikan's stupidity confounded Sanzo.  _How the fuck did he become a Keikan like _that_?_ He thought critically.  One did not rise to the level of Keikan simply by luck.  The road to greater strength for a vampire was bloody and violent.  There was a reason for the huge division within the species of vampires – the Keikans were truly the ones in charge and were a force to be reckoned with.

            The other vampire snapped out of his almost self-induced trance and glared back at Sanzo.  "Didn't your master ever teach you manners?"  It demanded in an attempt to match his opponent's aloofness – but failed miserably.  Still, he had touched a nerve, and the blonde could feel his jaw clench.  He knew that what his opponent was implying and what he was thinking about were two different things, but Sanzo would _never_ let anyone insinuate something like that about his master.

            "It is very rude to interrupt someone when they are about to feed," it continued, "or are you simply one of those scavengers that can't find their own prey?"

            _That_ was the last straw.  The vampire truly was an idiot, picking a fight with him.

            "Stupid," Goku whispered in a strained voice.  "Scavenger Keikans don't exist.  It's an oxymorous."

            "Oxymoron," Sanzo corrected automatically as he walked closer.  He saw the human grin faintly, as if he had read Sanzo's mind and saw what he wanted to do.

            Sanzo's cigarette still had a few more drags on it, but he took it out anyways and flung it in his opponent's face.  The vampire recoiled when the cigarette butt hit its skin.  Ash floated around the vampire, stinging him everywhere.  He glared at Sanzo in hatred as he ruthlessly pushed Goku to the side.

            Unlike the girl a few days ago, the young man was able to brace himself, although the action seemed to have knocked the air out of him.  The other Keikan walked over to his prey's fallen figure and drew a short cut somewhat lightly against his throat.  Goku winced as his wound began to ooze.  The vampire took the finger covered in blood and licked it clean slowly.

            "You taste incredible," he said in an awed voice.  "I must have done something really good for my master to let me have _you_.  You will be a lot of fun to clean up," the vampire said in a vulgar tone.  Sanzo's face drew back in an expression of revulsion.  It was said that some vampires had fetishes, and it looked like he was dealing with one.  "And don't even _think_ about trying to escape."

            By the pained look in Goku's face, Sanzo couldn't help but think that the young man wouldn't be able to even if he tried.  His head was tilted to the side, as if he were trying to keep his hair out of his wound.  However, the action caused Sanzo's attention to be drawn to the blood that was slowly trickling down the human's tanned neck.  His heavy breathing did not help matters, and Sanzo found the sight very… alluring.  It was making him hungry again.

            The blonde couldn't help but begin to feel a bit territorial as the other vampire eyed Goku again.  He had been hunting for the young man for the past few days, even if he had no intention of feeding on him.  Sanzo had the perception growing in his brain that the other vampire was messing with _his_ property.

            It was a bad idea to mess with Sanzo's things.

.

            Goku fought not to lose consciousness as he tried to keep his breath steady.  It would have been hard enough getting to the shrine after his first fight, but now the opportunity seemed impossible.  He had no idea that he had been set up for an ambush – and there would be no one to bail him out like Gojyo had with Lirin.  

            Wincing against the pain, Goku continued to tilt his head to the side.  There was vampire blood in his hair, and if it somehow got in his wound…

            Kougaiji had told him that there was a reason Hunters bit their tongues off if they were about to transform.  Unlike normal humans, a Hunter would skip the stage of "Weakling" completely and directly become a Keikan, because of all the vampire blood that was already on their hands.  Kougaiji was the only ex-Hunter they knew of that this happened to – for he had escaped the botched attempt on his life.  The transformation of a Hunter to vampire was the most painful thing that the ex-Hunter said that he had ever experienced.

            Even though he knew why he was doing it, Goku still felt self-conscious leaving his neck so exposed like that.  It was as if he was offering himself – the prize for the victor.  The thought brought him back to the two vampires who appeared to be in a standoff.

            The first vampire, his captor, was one that Goku was already very familiar with.  A Hunter needed to know the names and descriptions of all known Keikans in the capital, as well as what they… preferred.  It was one thing that confused him, because this Keikan was supposed to be one of the most infamous womanizers.  He was not the good kind, either, like Gojyo.  _He isn't supposed to be into men…_

            What puzzled him even more was the blonde-haired Keikan that had thrown the cigarette in the face of Goku's captor.  The Hunter didn't recognize him, and as he naturally compared the two levels of power, Goku realized that the stranger was at least four times as powerful as the other vampire.  _How the hell did we miss someone _this_ strong?_  And then there were the sunglasses…

            An infuriated scream pierced the air as his captor made the first move.  The Hunter did his best to observe the fight – he had never seen a real fight between two Keikans before and the speed was incredible.  That, and his fatigue he was beginning to feel in his body made the fight incredibly difficult to follow.

            The two vanished into the darker shadows and seemed to reappear instantaneously ten feet from where they had started.  Dodging a left hook, the blonde quickly changed his footing and threw a punch at his opponent's face.  It connected, and sent the vampire flying across the alley into the wall.  Goku could feel the body come in contact with the brick as he himself leaned against it to help find his balance.  The vampire recovered quickly, but the Hunter didn't miss the pieces of mortar that fell off his back as he went to attack again.

            It was like something he was seeing out of a dream.  Goku was amazed at how the blonde Keikan moved as he fought.  Not only was he more powerful than his adversary, but he actually _had_ fighting skills.  There were many vampires who were simply street fighters – fighters with no formal training – but it looked like this one had studied extensively in the martial arts.  While the blonde had a few street fighting techniques woven into his style, it was very rare now a days to come a cross a true master of fighting.

            No matter how hard he tried, the other vampire just couldn't seem to connect.  Goku could see his fangs stand out prominently against the rest of its teeth as he lunged for the blonde's throat.  The blonde raised his eyebrows briefly before kneeing the advancing vampire in the stomach, again sending it flying out of Goku's field of vision.

            A terrified shriek rose in protest from the vampire as he hit the ground _hard_.  Goku waited for him to get up again, but no noise came from the body.  Shifting carefully, the Hunter saw to his astonishment that the vampire had fallen onto his discarded spike that had somehow been at the correct angle to piece the creature's heart.  It was a one-in-a-million chance that it would ever happen, but he had a feeling it wasn't really chance.  _That blonde Keikan is just too good…_

            The thought of the blonde brought his thoughts back to reality.  He wasn't out of hot water yet – he now had to face a more powerful vampire _and_ he couldn't move.  Goku desperately wanted to cover his bleeding neck, but his hands were still stained with vampire blood and he wasn't going to be that stupid.  The pain was growing to a dull ache, though, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could stand it.

            Turning from where his former opponent lay, the blonde walked up to where Goku had propped himself against the wall.  The Hunter knew that he should be afraid of his advance, but while the vampire was incredibly powerful, something seemed different about him.

            _He reminds me of Gojyo and Kougaiji…_ the young man thought to himself.  _And those sunglasses…_

"Those sunglasses" were now looking him in the face.  It almost felt indecent simply lying there against the wall, he felt so exposed.  There would be no way that he'd be able to resist if the vampire decided to take him.

            _Wait a second…_ Why _wasn't_ the vampire taking him?  While many predators like to play with their prey before feeding, it was risky for a vampire to do so out in the open.  What was he doing?

            Again, Goku found himself comparing the blonde to the other Keikans he knew.  There seemed to be this hatred hovering around him – a hatred for _what_ he was.  Maybe this vampire could actually get him somewhere – Goku knew that Hakkai was having another "meeting" at his apartment, and if he got close enough he knew that the Hunter and two Keikans would be able to help him.  Of course, if Goku was just reading him wrong, he would be at a huge risk of exposing Hakkai…

            As another flash of pain went through his neck, Goku realized that he didn't have a choice.  His predicament had him completely incapacitated.

            "Help me…"

.

            That particular request was the last thing Sanzo thought he'd hear in this situation.  Someone who _knew_ what he was begging for his help?  Either the person was very brave or very stupid.  It was also growing difficult to be near the man with his neck exposed in that fashion.

            "You wouldn't want my kind of help," Sanzo replied coldly.

            "Please!" Goku's expression turned to one of hopelessness.  "I can't stay here.  Will you at least take me to Hakk- my friend's house?"  Hope lingered on his face desperately, startling the Keikan.  He had never seen such determination in a person's eyes before.  It also startled him to hear the note of trust in the human's strained voice.

            Sanzo looked the situation over critically.  What did this young man think he'd be able to do?  He couldn't go to the hospital – all the blood on his clothes would make the doctors and nurses suspicious, and would probably alert the police.  Sanzo couldn't afford to lose his quarry once he had found it – the trail would grow cold if he simply let the young man go.  It was possible that this friend of his could clean him up, but then he'd never get a chance to ask him any questions.  Had Goku been even slightly better regarding his injuries, Sanzo might have commenced with his question-asking right then and there, but…

            "You can stand up.  Walk there yourself."

            "No!" Goku responded quickly.  "I can't clean my wound first…"

            So he _did_ know, and still refused to move.  Sanzo stubbornly and silently refused to let him out of his sight before he got the answers he was looking for.

            All of this left him with one other option, the one that had not been posed.  Sanzo felt his fangs slip down as he removed his sunglasses.  Looking Goku in the eye, he used a very light form of hypnosis to help waylay the pain.  The vampire remembered that this man could throw hypnosis, but as Goku's eyes became vaguely distant, he realized that he had _let_ himself fall under the trance.

            Lowering his mouth to Goku's neck, he slowly began to lick the human's blood from his skin.  It took all the willpower he possessed to not sink his fangs into the tanned neck and take the young man on the spot.

            His mouth drew closer to the man's wound, but he found that he kept lingering on certain areas, becoming fascinated with the taste of Goku's skin.  Sanzo was taken aback when he felt Goku's hands grip his shoulders as the vampire continued his assault.

            Both their minds went out the door when Sanzo's lips finally touched the actual injury.  The blood flow had lessened, but the vampire lapped up all of the liquid hungrily as his lips tended to the cut.  Goku's grip tightened as his breath quickened.  The other vampire had cut directly across the pulse point, which was already sensitive in the first place.  That, plus the fact that the mystical trance helped replace the pain with pleasure, made the experience almost overwhelming to the young man.

            Sanzo began to feel a little heady as Goku pressed his neck further into the vampire's eager mouth.  As the blood flow continued to decrease, Sanzo found his fangs move tantalizingly across the human's skin, touching firmly enough to tease yet light enough not to penetrate.

            A moan rose from Goku's throat unconsciously, and the action snapped the vampire out of his activity.  Goku's eyes widened as he fell out of the trance – trying to figure out exactly what had happened.

            While the blood flow had greatly decreased, Sanzo still needed a way to keep the human's neck uncontaminated from vampire blood until they could clean him up properly.  Shrugging off his trench coat, he took off his shirt and tore it into strips.  He took a piece of fabric and wrapped it securely around the man's neck.  Taking a second section, he reinforced the makeshift bandage to make sure that none of the vampire blood would get through.  The last section of his shirt was used to do a rough clean-up job of the rest of the blood.

            The Keikan's senses pricked again, and he could sense someone, a human, approaching.  They needed to get out of there – it would be _very_ bad to be discovered surrounded by eight corpses, even if it was by a human.  It had just taken him a bit longer to take care of his prey than he thought it would have originally.

            His _prey…_ Sanzo didn't want to think about how naturally he had thought that.  This man was _not_ his prey – he had just helped save his life.  Had he left him there, another vampire would have been sure to come to him and finish what the others had started.

            Sanzo was about to ask Goku if he could stand when the man collapsed completely onto the ground, breathing shallowly.  The vampire criticized himself for not thinking it through better – this man had just killed seven Weaklings, and a human was not supposed to be able to be a match for one.  He had also lost a bit of blood _and_ had undergone hypnosis.  It was supposed to be more than a normal person could bear.

            The vampire had seen enough from the past events to see that Son Goku was far from normal, even if one disregarded the fact that he was a Prodigy Child.  Quickly putting his trench coat back on, Sanzo took the young man into his arms and vanished into the night.

.

.

            Shunrei looked down at her watch for the third time in five minutes.  No matter how much she checked it, she couldn't deny the fact that she was running late.

            It was one of the few days in which she was not working the evening shift, and the woman had hoped to be able to stop by her apartment before heading over to Yaone's place like she had planned to that evening.  Apparently Lirin and Goku were having trouble with a few of their classes, and had asked the two women to help them study.  Shunrei had never been able to refuse a request from the two young Hunters, and since they happened to be struggling with their computer class…

            Ideally Shuuei would have been the perfect person to teach them – he had taken over the two Hunters' training when their former teacher, Kougaiji, had transformed – but he had been too busy with his Abbot duties recently to be able to take time out to do such things.  Shunrei also suspected that he was working on some large project on the computer, and the other Hunters were going to let him concentrate his effort on cyberspace.  Very few people were born with a natural affinity for the kind of work that they did, and despite the Diet's efforts to track down these rare individuals, many slipped through their fingers.  Shunrei had even heard a rumor once that they tried to make Shuuei the Prodigy Child of Technology, but it was around that time that he came to be under Koumyou-sensei's care and simply "disappeared" from public knowledge.

            Something told the woman that it would probably do her friend some good if he was able to sit down and actually teach someone basic computer programming.  He always seemed to be relaxed around computers, and if he could actually take the time to work with something that couldn't possibly get him caught, it might relax him even more than his hacking.  No one could go a hundred percent without burning out eventually, and the last thing they needed was Shuuei falling apart.

            A strand of long blonde hair fell in front of Shunrei's eyes, and she paused momentarily to push it behind her ear.  Most of her hair was in a braid, but after a hard day of work, many strands had somehow found their way free.  She mentally promised herself that when she got to Yaone's apartment she'd put the hair in a ponytail.  With this promise in mind, she quickened her pace.

            It was soon that the woman found herself passing through the area that Goku liked to hang out in the most, and briefly wondered if the young man was out and about tonight.  He often would spend his time out doing something, and would only come to their study sessions at the last possible second before being late.  She wouldn't be surprised if Goku was in his favorite pool bar right now making a little bit extra money before he was forced to do his homework.

            _I don't think a little peek would hurt,_ she thought to herself.  After all, the pool hall in question happened to be in the side of the street she was on, and she could simply look in the window.  Goku always did stand out – it was very easy to pick him out in a crowd.

            As she neared the building in question, an odd sense of foreboding pricked at her senses.  It was as if something dark was trying to keep her back, as if she were about to intrude on something very private.  Shunrei knew that her senses were nowhere near as sharp as any of the Hunters, but they had taught her to recognize certain feelings, and to trust her instincts.  _Something isn't right…_

            Peering into the front window, Shunrei saw that the pool hall was completely empty.  Curiosity getting the better of her, she walked in to an alarming sight.

            By the appearance of the room, Shunrei could tell that a vampire must have hypnotized the people of the room to leave.  Halfway consumed mugs of beer were on end tables, and many pool games were incomplete.  At the back of the room, she saw that one of the tables had been overturned, and she hurried over to examine it better.

            The thought of the pool table left her mind when she found a body pinned to the floor with a splintered cue stick.  Its mouth was opened slightly, and Shunrei could see the telltale fangs, revealing the creature's identity**.**  She shuddered – it had been a long time since she had seen the dead body of a Weakling.  Even if she was Aware, a human who knew of the situation in the city regarding vampires but was not a Hunter, she did not often personally deal with the _dead_ ones.  Her job was to help supply the living ones with fresh blood from her work.

            She looked with a note of sadness at the body and realized that this was one of Lirin and Goku's former classmates.  It was obvious by the location and destruction of property (even if it probably wasn't his fault) that it had been Goku who had made the kill, and that thought made her shudder.  She didn't think that she'd _ever_ be able to kill someone who used to be a classmate of hers, no matter what the circumstance was._…_

            A flyer from a bulletin board in the back fell to the floor, catching the woman's attention.  It glided slowly to the floor in an erratic pattern, falling just outside of an open door.  Shunrei stood up from where she had been kneeling next to the body and walked toward the back exit.  Goku wasn't stupid – he'd never leave a scene that had his most recent kill exposed like that.  However, her curiosity turned to nausea when she stepped out into the back alley.

            The whole scenario seemed surreal.  It was as if she had stepped into a sea of blood.  It seemed to coat the concrete pavement, decreasing the traction of her feet.  Among the blood the woman grisly counted out eight bodies.

            _Oh my god, it was another ambush…_  Each body had been pieced through the heart – the only injury a vampire could never recover from.  But, if they were all dead, where was Goku?  Had he escaped?  Every single ambush that had happened in the past six months had always been lead by a Keikan.  For once, was this just an unrelated incident?

            Shunrei knew it wouldn't be good to try to convince herself with false illusions.  As she carefully walked among the former battle scene, she found something else of interest.

            A glint of silver caught her eye, and Shunrei made her way over to a particular corpse at the far side of the alley.  While most of it was covered in blood, the woman was able to figure out that this particular vampire was still impaled by a Hunter's spike.

            If anything, this made her fear for the young man even more.  A Hunter _never_ left their spike at the scene of a kill – it was the only weapon they could really use against their adversaries most of the time.  True, that one vampire had been killed with a cue stick, but it would be a bit conspicuous if Hunters carried large wooden stakes around with them all the time.  She bent down over the body to pull the weapon out, but started as it came free.

            Shunrei recognized the corpse as formerly being one of the Keikan vampires they had been warned to watch out for.  _He's dead?_ She thought to herself, _but there is no way that Goku could hope to kill him – Hunters are no match for Keikans._

            _If Goku left his spike here but his body isn't here…_ A Hunter would only abandon their spike when forced to, and that meant that either the young man was dead or had been captured.  Seeing his body not among those who had fallen, the woman highly suspected the (latter).  Shunrei quickly put the bloody spike inside her coat and left the morbid scene, heading in the direction of the Shrine.

            _Yaone, Lirin, I'm sorry, but there's been a change in plans…_

_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_=_

Please keep in mind that, while this is an AU, it also applies to the legends of the vampires.  I've put a few twists of my own into them, which will be explained later.

**_IMPORTANT NOTE:_**  (If you happen to be reading my other story, "Kindred Spirits," you can skip over this).  _Recently I have been having a problem with my leg which makes it almost impossible for me to sit (or stand, or lie down for that matter) without being in terrible pain.  This has made typing incredibly difficult, and that plus finals have greatly reduced my writing output.  So… I don't know when the next chapter will be out.  THIS is the reason this particular chapter took so long to get out.  I do promise you I will work on SiB, but I don't know how much I'll be able to do._

I love feedback!  Please let me know what you thought of the chapter, I'd appreciate it.  (Especially with my finals this week, I could use something to cheer me up from all the stress I've been under…)

-Iapetus


	6. Chapter 05: In the Lion

Somewhere I Belong

A Saiyuki fan fiction by Iapetus

Disclaimer: ::Still does not own Saiyuki::  
Beta Readers: Truth to Madness, Orenda and Nek0-chan

No, I did NOT discontinue this story. Real Life and Writer's Block are both just evil.

Thank you to everyone who helped me get out of my writer's block who does not usually do so.

The link to the review responses can be found in my profile. Thank you to everyone for reviewing.

* * *

Chapter 5: In the Lion's Den

.

A soft layer of smoke hovered slightly under the ceiling of the sparsely furnished bedroom. It appeared that the owner of the room did not like many frills, and tried to keep things simple. No posters or framed pictures adorned the walls, making it seem empty – as if it was not lived in. A simple dresser was pushed against the wall opposite of a curtain-drawn window. Instead of being covered in knickknacks, there was a solitary ashtray next to a figure sitting on its surface.

Sanzo pressed his back into the wall and lifted a half-smoked cigarette to his lips. Normally, he would have preferred to smoke by the window, but ever since he had moved into this apartment, he had found that he did not prefer smoking in that spot. His bedroom window had a _wonderful _view of the building ten feet from his own, he noted sarcastically, but it was not something he chose to look at that often. At least he could actually see the street from his main room.

Taking a deep breath of the addicting substance, the vampire looked to the figure lying on his King-sized bed. Having been covered in blood and torn to shreds, the vampire had taken the man's shirt off his body and threw it away.

Sanzo watched Goku's bare chest rise and fall as the human breathed deeply. His left hand lay causally on his stomach while his right rested on the pillow. The man's head was tilted to the right side, allowing for a bit of more comfort to his injured neck.

Somehow, even while sleeping, Goku seemed different. Completely relaxed and in his most vulnerable state, he almost seemed innocent.

_Innocent my ass,_ Sanzo thought to himself. There was no fooling him - he had seen the look of hatred in the Prodigy Child's eyes as he had proceeded to kill all seven Weaklings. But... he had also seen trust and hope when he asked for help. He couldn't exactly understand out _why_ he had become so fascinated with trying to figure out exactly what this man was, but it was not something his mind could ignore either. It went beyond him just trying to find out the answers to his questions.

Sanzo had _tried_ to do other things while his prey slept, but his thoughts kept drifting back to the bed and the one sleeping on it. After several futile attempts to distract himself, he simply sat down on the dresser to smoke and watch him.

Goku head tilted slightly as he naturally shifted in his sleep, and the movement caused him to wince. Sanzo's attention was drawn back again to the man's face - his attention formerly having been watching him in general as he rested.

_Damn._ Every time he looked the Prodigy Child up and down he'd stop for a bit longer when he got to his face. The bandage on his neck was an even greater reminder of what lay before him.

It had been difficult - no, that wasn't a strong enough word for it - _next to impossible_ for the Keikan to bandage Goku's wound. Despite his clean up job, the scent of blood still remained on the human's skin - tempting him to undo his handiwork and just finish what the other vampire had begun.

It was hard to describe... he really shouldn't have been feeling this hungry. He had fed only a few days ago, but Goku's blood had tasted so much different than that young woman's. Sanzo had never really been the one to indulge in his sense of taste - when he was a human he ate only because it was something that he needed to do. Yes some foods were better than others, but he generally could care less. But Goku... Why did his prey have to taste so delicious?

No. He would not go down that path. Shaking his head, he attempted to clear his mind of such thoughts, but found it to be futile. His instincts seemed to laugh back at him as he realized what he had exactly done.

There would be no way for him to concentrate now.

.

To say that Goku had slept badly would have been an understatement. He always had nightmares after a kill, and he had never done eight in one night before. Memories he longed to forget plagued his mind, so when he finally regained consciousness he felt mentally exhausted instead of refreshed. He needed something to take his mind off the memories, or he'd never be able to get back asleep that night.

Shifting his head from one side to the other, a pain smarted in his neck, causing him to flinch. As his body moved, he realized that he was not in his bed back home. He was on some sort of comforter, and Goku didn't own any comforters. Eyes opening slightly, he could verify that he was indeed not in his own room, even in the low light. As his senses began to sharpen again after coming out of sleep, he noticed something else.

Looking up, he could see the vague outline of a person sitting on some sort of furniture. The person, who had been apparently watching him, looked away nonchalantly like he never had. It took a few moments for his mind to completely register his surroundings, but immediately snapped back to reality as his mind recalled the events from earlier. A hand slowly rose to touch his bandaged neck, and he could tell simply by the snugness of the dressing that it had been taken care of better than he ever could.

He wanted to ask where he was, but he knew that was a stupid question. The vampire seemed too relaxed to be anywhere but his own home. That answer was obvious, but the other questions...

"What are you staring at?"

The sudden sound of the vampire's voice made him start. He hadn't realized that he had been staring - his mind had been so preoccupied that he forgot he had been examining the Keikan's profile. Red eyes - although they looked slightly violet in the dim light - bored into him, demanding an answer.

The abrupt question startled the Hunter, and he replied with the first thing that came to mind. "You."

Eyebrows rising, the Keikan's expression flickered in general amusement. Goku blinked, and the expression was gone.

"Why's that?" he asked simply.

What was he supposed to say? Goku had been taught to recognize every known Keikan on sight, but when he looked at his rescuer he only drew a blank. He had to have become one recently – there was no other explanation.

"Hasn't anyone ever taught you that it's rude to stare?"

The vampire had a point. "Sorry…"

"Che."

"What's your problem?" Goku asked, slightly annoyed.

The blonde's expression somehow became slightly irritated as he responded. "I thought that a Prodigy Child was supposed to be some sort of genius. How did I pick up an idiot?"

Now THAT statement wasn't fair. "I'm not the Prodigy Child of Math or anything," Goku explained, "I'm the one of Sports-"

"-So you're saying you're an idiot?" A hint of a smile, or more like a smirk from Goku's perspective, seemed to slowly form on his host's lips.

The Hunter wasn't expecting that particular response and it caught him off guard. "I was saying-" _Wait__ a second..._ "No, I'm not an idiot!"

Eyes flickering away ever so slightly, the vampire continued. "Then close your mouth and stop gaping like one."

"But…" Well, what _was_ he supposed to say to that?

The Keikan's eyebrows rose. "Hm?" He wondered aloud, "You like looking like an idiot?"

Goku bristled. "I'm not a-" He was getting nowhere like this. Something told him he wouldn't win this argument. He felt somehow deflated as he decided to change topics. "It's just… who are you?"

"It's rude to not give your own name first too."

Yet another point for the Keikan. For some reason, Goku had no qualms telling this stranger his name... "My name is-"

"-I already know your name."

Goku was confused. "Then why did you ask…"

The vampire lowered his cigarette long enough to flick a few of the ashes off of its end. "Someone needs to teach you some manners," he stated simply.

There wasn't really anything he could say to that, but Goku couldn't help it. Curiosity always did seem to get the better of him, and it had gotten him in trouble on more than one occasion. For several moments, both Hunter and Keikan simply studied each other as both their minds blanked out on what to say.

Goku decided to finally break the silence. "How long have I been out?" He inquired.

"Long enough." The Hunter suddenly felt very self-conscious under his host's gaze. "Strip."

"What?!" He did not just hear what he thought he heard, did he? Had he been wrong with his assumptions all along? Goku knew that he wasn't always the greatest judge on character, but somehow with _him_ it seemed different...

"Not like that, baka," the Keikan rolled his eyes. "You smell. Go take a shower." He idly pointed in the direction of a closed door not too far away from the bed itself.

There was an overwhelming sense of something Goku couldn't really place rising up in his mind. It was almost like obedience, but slightly different. For some reason, the Hunter suddenly _really_ wanted to do what the Keikan said. Goku knew he wasn't under hypnosis, and from his experience with it, this was nothing like it. Deciding that, since he knew he was dirty from his fight that he should take a shower anyways, he pushed the odd thought out of his mind and headed towards the bathroom. When he reached the door, he turned around to look back at the blonde to ask a question. It was almost as if the vampire had read his mind.

"My name is Sanzo."

.

.

He was in a good mood.

It was strange, since the detective was rarely in a good mood after a day at work, but today had proved to be a blessed anomaly. There were very few reasons to smile these days, and he had learned from one of his friend's students that one should take advantage of each one that presented itself.

It was for that reason that Homura Toushin Taishi could be seen walking down the streets of Oniori with a smile on his face. Yes, his work was in a bit of disarray with the change of leadership, and yes the hackers kept on breaking into their system (causing major headaches to his superiors), but at the moment he could care less.

He was off to spend the evening with two of his friends. It was a rare occurrence for their schedules to free up at the same time, and they tried to meet up as often as they could. And while it was mostly for recreation, his friends also happened to be two of his best informants. When it came to the University, there were few that knew more than they did about what went on. That included his own superiors, Homura noted with a smirk. He was considered one of the best men in his department, but if it was known that he knew things and wasn't saying everything…. That wasn't really going to be a problem, though. He had been told before that he was a good actor, and it was nothing for him to pull off the "oblivious" bit. To all except his two friends, he was one of the many Diet employees that was blissfully unaware of just how severe the level of corruption was – that it was corrupt in the first place.

The black haired man sighed. He really didn't want to think about work at the moment. He was about to see his two friends and have a drink. He was supposed to be relaxing.

Coming to a corner, Homura turned left, and then promptly found himself stumbling backwards. A young woman had run into him, causing him to almost lose his balance. She, on the other hand, had. Trying to regain her bearings, she steadied herself against the ground, but it only seemed to cause her body to flinch in a dull pain.

"Are you alright?" he asked politely. The woman didn't miss the double meaning in his statement - she had been running very quickly when they collided. Homura could tell that while she was a good actress, something was on her mind. He could feel his instincts as a detective perk up, fueled by his natural human curiosity.

She looked up, and a brief flash of fear shown in her eyes. "Detective?"

Homura inwardly flinched. He hated getting those looks of fear. As an employee of the Diet he was also a physical representation of them. Those that knew of the Diet's corruption would not be so stupid as to cross him. Never mind the fact that the corruption disgusted him as well and he could not escape it…

At first Homura thought that his reputation had preceded him yet again, but when he gave the woman a second look in the eye, he realized that this wasn't so**.** It had been awhile since he had seen her last and they were only acquaintances, but…

"Are you alright, Shunrei-san?" he repeated himself.

Mentioning her name seemed to snap her out of the daze she was in, and she looked slightly embarrassed. She still looked distracted, though, when she went to stand up.

"I'm fine," she began, "thank you for asking, and I apologize for bumping into you but I-"

Her sentence never finished itself. As she got to her feet, something fell out of her jacket and dropped to the ground.

Being the gentleman that he was, Homura bent down to pick it up. He briefly noted that the fear had returned to her eyes, but he became distracted with the item itself. By the smears on the surface, it looked like it had just been used in some sort of massacre. The silver coating that appeared to originally coat the... spike… (he couldn't think of any other way to describe it) was tainted by the drying blood. Knowing that the glimmer of silver would attract some of the more shady people in this area, he quickly picked it up to hold it in his shadow. As he himself straightened up, he noticed the small bit of blood on her hands that she tried to wipe away.

_But it looks like she only picked this up_, he mentally noted. Looking her in the eye again, he tried to find any sort of clue to what was going on. Did she really commit some crime only moments beforehand? _No,_ he thought, _there is no guilt in her eyes. There is fear, but no guilt._

A very awkward silence followed, neither person knowing exactly what to say. Homura carefully turned the spike over in his hands. "Where did you get this?" he asked. His tone sounded polite, but Shunrei did not miss the command for an answer in it.

"I… found it," she said, finally. "Just now, while I was walking."

She wasn't telling the whole truth, but Homura could tell that she wasn't lying either.

He nodded, and then looked back at the spike. "This is quite a find, Shunrei-san. Would you mind if I got a chance to take a closer look at it before returning it to you?"

The expression on her face revealed that she'd like to do anything but, but she nodded, knowing that she couldn't really refuse his request. What the Diet wanted, the Diet got.

_I guess that isn't so bad then,_ Homura thought to himself as he nodded to the woman.

"Have a good evening, Shunrei-san."

.

.

Somehow, the world didn't seem so bad at the moment.

Goku had found it impossible to worry while he was in the shower – the hot water and soap just seemed to wash all of his cares away. It was odd how a simple thing like a shower had such a relaxing effect on him, but he generally didn't question what happened to work for him. He just… he hadn't really appreciated the soothing effect that a shower had on him until after he became a Hunter. Maybe it was because it reminded him of the Holy Water he had to bathe in at least once a week. Whatever it was, Goku didn't know.

All he knew is that it should have _somehow_ felt different where he was right now. He was in Sanzo's apartment, with only a door and probably twenty feet in between them. He should be afraid – that was the logical response. However, he found that while the water was relaxing him, the scent of the shampoo he was using also put him at ease. Goku remembered smelling it faintly right before passing out, while he was in the middle of the trance he allowed Sanzo to put him in.

It also bothered Goku that he was already thinking of the Keikan in such a familiar manner. It was like they had known each other for a long time, and he had just met him earlier that night. Or… had it been technically last night? Goku had no idea what time it was – he had not seen any sort of clock from his position in the blonde's bedroom, and passing out had disoriented his grasp on time.

Gritting his teeth, the Hunter picked up the bar of soap and worked up a good lather. With it he went about washing away the evidence of his fights – happy when he saw the dried blood slowly disappear from his skin and fade into a pink stream with the water that went down the drain. He had actually been surprised with the outcome of his last fight. Minus his neck, he had no injuries. His muscles ached like hell, but that was to be expected. No one ever got ready for a kill knowing in advance that it would be an ambush – at least not yet, anyways.

The Hunters had been trying to figure out who was behind the attacks ever since they had started, but despite all of their sources, they still hadn't discovered a thing. Goku knew that the moment they found out about the next one (because he knew there were going to be others, especially after his failed like it did), a team of Keikans who were on their side and a few Hunters would probably go and see if they could collect any information. Goku secretly wished that he would be called on that mission when it would hopefully come up – but then again he knew that all Hunters wished to get a chance to demand an answer from the ambushers to ask what the hell was going on.

Sighing, the brunette pushed these thoughts out of his mind as he began to wash his hair. He had more important things to deal with right now – like trying to think about what he was going to say to Sanzo. Goku knew that he sometimes didn't think clearly, but even _he_ knew that he would not be able to simply say "thank you for saving me!" and just leave the apartment. No one did such philanthropist-like actions anymore. The blonde wanted something. And Goku had to admit, he wanted to learn more about this mysterious Keikan that he did not recognize.

A sharp knock on the bathroom door seemed to reaffirm his previous thought, causing him to turn slightly in that direction and cease washing his hair.

"Get out," he heard Sanzo say loudly from the other side of the door. "I don't need you using up all of my hot water."

_First he tells me to go take a shower, and now he wants me to get out…_ Goku almost wanted to slow down just to annoy the blonde, but something inside him told him that that would be a _bad_ idea. Turning back to his shower, he proceeded to rinse his hair. Just as the last of the suds were rinsed away from his scalp, he felt the temperature of the water drastically drop. The sudden change made him yelp and grapple for the knob to turn it off. Still shivering, he reached for the towel hanging next to the shower curtain, when he realized that he had heard another stream of water shut off seconds after his. Pushing the curtain back, he saw the Keikan leaning against the bathroom wall next to the sink, a hand still on the faucet.

.

Sanzo didn't know exactly why he did what he did. Goku hadn't been in the shower for that long before he had gone and knocked on the door, and had simply decided to use the excuse of his water ration to try to get him out. He really DID have a limited supply of hot water allotted to him a day – a nice "perk" of living in one of the more "upscale" apartment complexes – but Goku was nowhere _near_ his limit.

The blonde had never remembered being this impatient before. The young man was finally awake, and with the opportunity to get the answers he had been looking for so close to his grasp, it was getting frustrating. However, when the brunette had first woken up, he realized that there would have been no way for him to concentrate on having an informative conversation with the scent of blood still so heavy on his prey- _the man's,_ he caught himself – body. But now it was gone, and Goku would just have to deal with having a short shower.

He had _not_ expected for Goku to push back the shower curtain without even putting the towel around his waist. It still was in the hand that was against the wall, while the other held the curtain in place. Sanzo guessed, by the look on the man's face, that he had not expected there to be anyone in the bathroom when he did that. He found his eyes traveling, watching the droplets of water roll down Goku's muscular chest and to his legs.

Goku, on the other hand, had seemed too startled at first to do anything except stare back in shock. When the vampire met his gaze again, he remembered himself and quickly wrapped the towel around him. Sanzo's eyebrows simply rose.

"What – what are you doing in here?" Goku stammered, still obviously uncomfortable about his current state.

"Making sure you got out of the shower." Sanzo said simply.

Goku tried to glare at the vampire, but the expression only came out to be somewhat annoyed. "You didn't have to do _that_!"

"It worked, didn't it?" he replied with a smirk.

The young man hesitated. "But…"

"-What?"

"You didn't have to come in," he said quietly, "I heard you knock…"

"It's my place, I can do whatever the hell I want to," he said with finality.

"I wasn't using _that_ much water," Goku sulked.

"Water costs money. Or, were _you_ going to pay for it?" Sanzo questioned critically.

"_You're_ the one who told me to take a shower…"

Sanzo simply expressed a note of annoyance as he moved from where he was leaning against the tile wall. "Put some clothes on," he said exasperated as he eyed Goku's scantily clad figure. "I'm not going to let you keep wearing that towel."

He turned, and headed back into his bedroom, giving Goku a second to dry off. Sanzo had to admit, it had been fun to tease the man like that. It was so easy to get a rise out of him…

The sound of feet shuffling made him turn around back in the direction of the bathroom, where a much drier Goku now stood in the doorway – still clad in the towel. Scanning the room, Goku seemed to be in search of something.

"What are you looking for?"

"My clothes. You told me to get dressed, so…" Goku fidgeted, trying to finish his sentence but not really figuring out a way to end it.

"And do you always do what people tell you to do?" The vampire challenged.

It was amazing to see how fast the man bristled to that remark. "No! No one can tell me what to do!"

"Then what are you doing right now?" he asked, amused.

"I _want_ to put on some clothes. It's just coincidence-"

"You don't seem like the kind of person who believes in coincidences," Sanzo interrupted.

Goku tried to protest that point, but seemed to realize that he couldn't. His chin dropped slightly in defeat. "I don't."

"Then you just contradicted yourself."

The man didn't say anything to that, deciding to remain silent for a few moments. "Where are my clothes?" he finally asked.

"I threw them away," Sanzo replied, simply.

"WHAAT?!"

"They were too stained for you to ever hope to wear them again," he explained.

"And you say water is expensive…" Goku glared at the Keikan. "You owe me a shirt and a pair of pants!"

Sanzo gave his prey a critical look before speaking. "I owe you _nothing_," he spoke slowly. "I saved you; you owe me your _life_." He let that fact sink in before continuing. "How do you plan to pay me back for _that_?"

"How am I supposed to?" Goku asked nervously.

"You could start by answering a few questions-" Sanzo began.

"Um…" Goku blushed. "Could I put some clothes on first?"

"What clothes?" he smirked. "I threw them down the incinerator."

Goku turned even redder, although Sanzo was unsure if it had to do with embarrassment or anger or just general frustration. It seemed that it was getting difficult for the man to get a word in – he was losing what little he had left of his cool. "Can I please borrow some of yours?"

Sanzo did not move for a moment, but then went to the dresser and pulled out a top and a pair of shorts. "You owe me for those now, too."

"But… _you're_ the one who threw my clothes out!"

"They were stinking up the place."

Goku saw that he wasn't gong to win that argument either, and quickly put the offered clothes on without objection. When he was done, they both could hear a stomach growling. Goku grinned sheepishly. "Do you have anything to eat? I'm starving."

Sanzo wasn't entirely sure. He hadn't had to eat human food since his transformation. Somehow, he doubted the contents of his pantry had changed without his knowing, but he really didn't remember what was in there anymore.

Wordlessly walking towards the kitchen, he heard Goku follow close behind.

His search procured two items – a box of instant rice and a dusty unopened jar of water chestnuts. Goku was about to protest the meager meal until he realized that it was all that the vampire had.

"So," Sanzo said as he put the rice on to cook, "what are you?"

Goku looked up, confused by the question. "I'm human, can't you sense that?"

"Humans can't kill vampires," Sanzo reasoned logically. "And even the few times they have, they didn't remain human for long."

"Normal humans can't kill vampires," Goku responded cryptically.

"So you're saying you're not normal?"

"…I didn't say that."

"You say you're human, and yet you kill vampires. You're contradicting yourself again," Sanzo pointed out.

"I wouldn't lie about that!" Goku said hotly. "And it isn't like I go out and do it for fun!"

"Then why do you?" Sanzo challenged.

"Because I…" he paused, collecting himself before he allowed himself to continue. "I don't want others to go through what I went through." He looked away. "I don't want others to be like me or my friends. No one deserves to experience that."

Sanzo shrugged. "Some people deserve to have nasty things happen to them."

Goku met his eyes again. "No one deserves this," he said resolutely.

"What's so bad about 'this?'" he pried. This was getting interesting. He wasn't getting some of the answers he was expecting, but…

Goku said nothing, but chose to watch the pot of rice, as well as the pot next to it of the water chestnuts heating up, cook. Not a word was spoken for several minutes, only interrupted by the buzzing of the kitchen timer for the man's rice. Sanzo grabbed a plate from the cupboard and put Goku's food onto it, and handed it to him indifferently.

It wasn't until his plate had been cleared halfway before Goku spoke again. "It was my best friend."

Whatever Sanzo had expected him to say, it hadn't been that. "What are you talking about?"

Goku continued to stare down at his plate as he continued. "You asked me about what no one deserved, didn't you?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, one of my best friends. He was murdered almost a year ago."

Murder? Murders were not that common in the capital, surprisingly enough – despite the corruption in the Diet – which could only mean one thing.

"A vampire killed him?"

Goku nodded. He had stopped eating, and started to push the food around on his plate absentmindedly.

"So, you want revenge on the vampire who killed him?" Sanzo guessed. After all, that's what he himself wanted.

This time, Goku shook his head. "No, the vampire that killed him died about a minute after my friend. There was a time I wanted all vampires to just die," He looked up from his plate to Sanzo's face, "but that was before I found out that they aren't all evil."

That was true enough too. Sanzo knew that there were many Weaklings who didn't even bother getting involved in the territorial wars between the power-hungry Keikans – they were just trying to live the lives of "normal" humans – something now impossible for them to do.

"Do you still hate them?" Sanzo inquired. He didn't like the idea of lumping himself with the rest of such a despicable lot. He was not like them. He did not want to be one of them.

"A friend who is into the religious cults told me to 'hate the sin but love the sinner,'" Goku said with a small smile. "But I don't like all of the sinners. I guess I'm not very devout."

Sanzo would have commented on that, except he suddenly felt the presence of two Keikans he did not recognize come into his territory. Looking over at Goku, he saw the man's face flash in recognition, and he seemed tempted to run to the kitchen window and look out. Sanzo gave him a look that told him to do anything but, and waited until the brunette had forked another mouthful of rice into his mouth before moving to see who dared enter his territory. He heard the noise of Goku's eating stop again, and felt his eyes on his back.

Peering out, Sanzo found himself looking up the building across the street to the top story where two figures looked back at him. He could not make out much about what they wore, but he could see the light catch in both figures' long hair. Long _red_ hair.

* * *

As you can see, Homura is going to be in this story. Please take note that I am trying my hardest to write all of the characters so they remain In Character. This applies for Homura as well. He is NOT a rapist, and his character will not be butchered so that he is one in my story.

Yeah, so I'm done ranting now. ::sweatdrop:: I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and comments and criticisms are ALWAYS appreciated.

-Iapetus


	7. Chapter 06: Impervious

Somewhere I Belong

A Saiyuki fan fiction by Iapetus

Disclaimer: I wish I may I wish I might… nah, never mind. I don't own Saiyuki. It'd be nice to, but I don't wish to take it away from the amazing Minekura-sama. Not that I'd be able to even if I tried… but still. ;

Beta: Orenda

Sorry for the delay on this one, but the third section of this chapter was absolutely IMPOSSIBLE to write. One of the reasons it took so long to finish is because this one came out so LONG. I could have split it in half, but then the chapters would have been short by this story's standards, and I didn't want to do that. So… for your long wait you get a longer chapter. Hopefully you will all find it to be sufficient consolidation. ::grins::

Also, much love to iamzuul for helping with the second half of this chapter. Without her amazing help, this chapter would still be incomplete, and I would have no idea of how to approach it. So, this chapter is dedicated to her. ::hearts::

* * *

Chapter 6: Impervious

-

"Damnit."

Kougaiji couldn't blame Gojyo for his language; he had been thinking the same thing. They had simply been talking when Shunrei had come pounding on Hakkai's doorstep – the scene of vampire blood having already tipped them off. She said how she had been passing by the pool hall Goku liked to frequent when she had found the ambush. At hearing the description of the mess that had been caused, the three of them had already suspected that it was Goku. When Shunrei had gotten close, both vampires had been able to smell the missing Hunter's blood on her hands, verifying her story. In the world they lived in, blood was the one thing that really didn't lie.

The fact that Goku went out on a kill without his knowing also irritated him. He had been the one to train Goku back when he himself was still a Hunter, and while Goku's mentor had changed to Hakkai, Kougaiji still wanted to keep an eye on him. The last time a Hunter had neglected to tell someone else about a kill had been when Lirin had been ambushed.

It was decided that since Kougaiji and Gojyo had the speed and stealth a Hunter could never hope to match, they would be the ones to look for Goku. Hakkai would take Shunrei to the shrine to get her purified as soon as possible – none of them wanting her to go out into the city again marked with vampire blood alone. She had also mentioned something about Goku's spike, but right now his and Gojyo's main concern was to simply find Goku and get him back. They could worry about the other details later.

The two of them had tried to go to the alley in question, but they had sensed when they got close that it was already swarming with the police. Despite their superior skills, it had taken them hours to locate his presence in the vast metropolis, carefully inspecting areas inhabited by dangerous Keikans they had hoped never to venture near. To a vampire who did not know what they were doing, it would seem like they were being cocky. Then again, they were some of the few individuals who actually _could_ do what they were doing and get away with it. Still, it wasn't good to take unnecessary risks.

It wasn't just that, though. He would never be able to forgive himself if he were to watch Lirin lose yet another person important to her. She had grieved when his mother (not biologically her own, but she regarded her as her real one) had been killed, and he hadn't been sure if she would _ever_ regain her smile when her other childhood friend had died. Lirin knew the risks involved when she agreed to accept her position as a Hunter, but despite all of this, she was still his little sister. He wanted to protect her from the pain of the world. It was impossible, yes, but it didn't mean he wouldn't try. Maybe, his efforts would at least dampen them a bit. It was what he hoped for, anyways.

Kougaiji had been straining his ears for any sort of sound that would help lead them in the right direction when he finally struck gold.

_"There was a time I wanted all vampires to just die,"_ they heard faintly among the noise of the street. There was no mistaking that voice – it was Goku. As they rushed off towards the building they both heard it come from, Gojyo shot Kougaiji a critical look. Whoever he was with obviously knew Goku knew what was going on. As they got close, yet another hypothesis of Shunrei's was verified - Goku was within close proximity of a _very_ powerful Keikan.

Kougaiji felt his eyebrows furrow in thought. "Gojyo, I don't remember there being any vampires – Weaklings _or_ Keikans in this area at _all_. Did you know of any?"

Gojyo shook his head. "Never heard about any rumors of one here either…"

"…but I don't like all of the sinners. I guess I'm not very devout," they heard Goku finish saying. _We have the right place then…_

They came to a stop at the building across the street from their target. The apartment in question was at the corner of the building – one side facing the building next to it. It appeared to have three windows – one on the side facing the wall, and two facing in their direction. Kougaiji opened his mouth to say something when he realized that they had already been found out. Staring at them from out one of the windows was the Keikan whose presence neither of them had been able to recognize.

"Who the hell is he?" Gojyo whispered.

"I've never seen him before," Kougaiji replied, "but how did we ever miss him?"

The stranger's eyes narrowed, sending a chill down Kougaiji's spine. They were encroaching on _his_ territory – how else did they expect him to react? But Goku was in there, they were both sure of it. It was just… they _couldn't_ just waltz in there and take him back. Not even a Hunter would be able to defend himself if they somehow got caught in a battle between two Keikans. His mind whirled, searching for some sort of an idea.

"You know," Gojyo said quietly, "If Hakkai was here, he'd probably suggest doing something to unnerve the guy – to catch him off his guard."

"But he can already see us," Kougaiji pointed out. "That isn't going to-"

Gojyo put up a hand, silencing him. Something seemed to have clicked in his brain, and a smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth. "I've got it. You stay here."

Before the other redhead had a chance to ask what his companion was doing, he found himself standing alone on the building. The blonde gaze as well as his own shifted as Gojyo's presence moved, and before Kougaiji knew it he realized that he was in the building. Moments later they both heard what they had least expected – a knock on a door.

-

-

The world seemed to take delight in making his life difficult. Within five minutes of running into Shunrei-san, Homura had reached his destination – only to find his pathway blocked by a large crowd. Even if he was able to manage to worm through the jumble of bodies, he knew that he'd end up being late. He suspected that it was probably something vile and disgusting, and he had no desire to look at it.

Several "excuse me" and "pardon me" were mentioned, but he did not get very far before being recognized. The detective realized that the man who had spotted him was a client from an old case. When the crowd realized who he was, they pushed him to the front – wanting him to make some sense of what was going on. It was all done in an unusually quiet manner. The crowd seemed to have trouble speaking, as if they were too stunned to even utter a word. A few whispered, but it was a somewhat… uncomfortable… noise. Only one thing could shake a person up like that, in Homura's opinion.

He barely had time to survey the area before the police showed up. Homura had been informed that they were on their way, and it wasn't too far from the station from here. Even without cars, they would be there in less than ten minutes.

It had been surprising, though, when Homura realized that he didn't recognize anyone on this particular squad. They seemed to react the same way to him – he was pushed aside as if he was just another citizen in the way. Before he knew it, they were all out in the middle of the street – several officers posted themselves on either end of the crowd to make sure that none got away. Homura knew what was coming next – all the people who were there were going to be questioned before being allowed to leave.

"Hey you! The black-haired one!" Homura looked up naturally and towards the voice that had called out. An officer motioned him to come over, and the detective did so. Glad that he'd finally be able to get out of there, he could feel his mood beginning to lighten again. Reminding himself of all the headaches and annoyances that could possibly present themselves while being questioned, Homura put on his best "indifferent" expression and went to see what awaited him.

"Good evening, officer." He gave a small bow here, although Homura suspected that he outranked this man and it should technically be the other way around. The officer nodded in greeting before the detective continued. "I assume you wanted to speak with me?"

"Yes, I did," he said briefly. The officer was holding a notebook in his hands. He scribbled down something very quickly before he spoke again. "What is your name?"

Homura thought briefly of correcting the officer on his etiquette, but decided he was not in a very advantageous position to do so. There was something about the look in the policeman's red eyes that told him that it wouldn't be a good idea. "Homura Toushin Taishi."

"Age?"

"23."

"Profession?"

"Detective."

The officer looked up. "Really?" Homura nodded. "You know, I think I _have_ heard of you before…"

Homura raised his eyebrows. The man was doubtful about knowing who he was? And here he thought that his reputation had preceded him…

"Well," the officer continued, "Maybe then you could be a little more helpful than some of the witnesses," he said with contempt.

Fighting hard to retain his indifferent look, Homura silently looked at the man in distaste. He hated officers that looked down on the normal population. Their hypocrisy made him sick.

"I am sorry, but I am afraid that I arrived after it happened," Homura said truthfully. "So, I am unsure to how much help I can really be."

"You and everyone else," the officer said, annoyed. "There weren't any witnesses to the actual _crime_. Someone claims that they saw a blonde woman running away from that direction with blood on her hands, but no one else can verify this. Have you?"

_Shunrei_-_san_… The black-haired man shook his head. She was hiding something, but his instincts told him she was not guilty of this. The woman shouldn't have the police come after her for something she didn't do.

"Ok then. What business did you have in the area this evening?" the officer questioned.

"I was going to have a drink with some friends."

"…and why did you come over to the alley?"

Homura then proceeded to explain that the crowd had caught his attention and how he had been pushed to the front. He gave his opinion on the crime scene – that it had had more blood than he had ever seen in any case, and how the only wounds he saw on their bodies was the fatal one through the heart. He apologized again for not telling more, but he did not have a lot of time to look around before the police had shown up.

"…so why didn't you come forward sooner?" the officer demanded. "It sounds like you have good instincts when it comes to things like this. We could have used you!"

"It looked like things were being taken care of in very capable hands. I did not see any reason to disrupt that," Homura reasoned.

"You have an obligation as a member of this city's law enforcement to step up in times of need!" he challenged.

Homura frowned. Whether he liked his job or not, he wouldn't just stand around and be called incompetent.

"I guess that your copy of the staff directory must have had the page with my information missing," he commented. One of the duties of the law enforcement in the capital was to at least familiarize themselves with what their various co-workers looked like. The Diet thought that doing this would help the squads work more efficiently. "I am sure they did not dismiss me out of insult-"

"What do you mean by that, _detective_?" The officer's eyes had slowly been narrowing, but Homura inwardly smiled.

"Nothing, officer," he responded in an innocent tone, "I only speak from experience. There appears to be a large portion missing from my own department's copy, and I have yet to locate a complete one."

The officer looked startled by this remark as if the detective was not supposed to notice it. His eyes relaxed and opened back to their normal size, but Homura couldn't help but think that the expression just felt horribly… wrong. It was almost as if the officer was trying to invade his mind.

"Is something the matter, sir?" Homura asked in genuine interest. The red-eyed policeman seemed startled for a second by the question, but continued to look at Homura with that eerie gaze.

"There aren't any pages missing from the directory," he said slowly. "You've been mistaken."

Homura knew full well that he was _not_ mistaken, but an ordinary officer should not be the one to inform him like this. If he happened to come across some information that the Diet did not want to become public knowledge, he would often be called in by one of his superiors and told to say nothing.

"Then why do I not recognize your squad? I would have remembered if there were units who _all_ had red eyes," he pointed out.

The officer was silent for a moment. "…you _are_ very observant." He paused to scribble something down in his notebook. _He would work well as a-_

Tilting the notebook, the policeman caused it to be at an angle that Homura couldn't see. He didn't find out what the officer thought he would do well in, but he had a gut feeling he knew what had been written down.

"You've never seen our squad before." It was not a question, it was more like he was trying to change Homura's very memories.

"Correct," he said truthfully. "Today is the first time I have ever seen you before."

"No, that's not what I meant." There was that sensation again. It was creepy, and sent a shiver down Homura's spine. His mind pushed back on it in instinct and revulsion.

"You went to meet your friends, but they were not there. You went home after that. Nothing happened tonight."

"I was not aware that you knew who my friends were, sir. We have never met before, after all," Homura challenged. "Or should I say, I did not know that you knew which ones I was planning on seeing."

From the corner of his eyes, the black-haired man saw the others of the crowd get questioned much like he was. He hadn't realized it at first, but as their conversations went on, the civilians seemed to slip into some sort of odd daze. Muted physical reactions were common after seeing such a horrible crime as the one that had been committed, but for some reason their reactions seemed out of the ordinary. They were not acting like normal witnesses.

The officer's eyes narrowed. "Tell me the truth. Do you know of us?" His voice seemed to insinuate more than just the police unit finishing their investigation. But no matter how he looked at it Homura couldn't read the connotations hidden in his voice. The only thing he _could_ tell was that if he lied here, it might cost him dearly.

He had no need to lie. "I don't know what you're talking about."

There was an uncomfortable pause in which both figures glared at each other, seeing who would back down first. Despite the creepy sensation he continued to feel, Homura held his ground.

It was a full minute before the officer looked away, not being able to match the detective's gaze anymore. In that moment that had been broken, and as the officer looked away, Homura cracked a small smile.

"Well… anyways," the officer tried to regain his former superior attitude. "You can expect to be contacted about this very soon."

Homura was mildly surprised by that remark. It seemed redundant that the officer even had to state that. That sort of thing was something that he had naturally expected to happen – it wasn't an unusual occurrence. Before he could inquire about why he had to have it stated to him, the officer waved him off. The conversation was over, and it wouldn't be of use to try to get a word in now.

The detective sighed and turned to head back home. He'd explain himself to his friends later, but right now he just needed to think.

-

-

Goku was glad that he had temporarily stopped eating. He knew that if he had tried to swallow something when he heard the knock on the door, he would have probably choked on his food. It was an incredibly bold move, but thinking of who was behind the door… it made a little bit of sense. Gojyo was not the kind of person who knocked on doors – unless he knew that it would piss someone off.

By the twitch he saw on Sanzo's face, it appeared that Gojyo had guessed correctly. His gaze shifted from outside the window to his door, and then back. It looked like the blonde was unsure of what to do. Goku could flat out say that neither of them were a threat, but he highly doubted that he would be listened to.

"Stay here," Sanzo said in a low voice, and moved very slowly towards the door. No matter what he would do, the Keikan was at a disadvantage. _But he shouldn't be in one,_ Goku thought seriously. Tentatively, he spoke up as he rose from his seat. "Sanzo, I don't think-"

The blonde didn't even turn his head. "Then _don't_ think, and be quiet." Goku could almost see the vampire's mind working – calculating every possible scenario. As his eyes searched, Goku grew more uncomfortable.

The door knocked again, and Goku's mind reeled. He didn't want Gojyo to somehow get hurt when he could possibly intervene… The redhead was an asshole at times, but he wouldn't wish a pissed-off Sanzo on anyone. The Hunter stepped away from the table and towards the door. "Seriously, Sanzo, you should-"

This time he _did_ earn a sharp glare from his host. "Has no one ever taught you respect for your elders?" He paused, and thought for a second. "Although I'm not surprised, with your manners." Goku tried to protest this, but was cut off by Sanzo again. "Just sit down and shut up!"

He was getting annoyed. Sanzo was being hypocritical, and at the moment he didn't care who or what he was talking to. "If you would just _listen_ to me for a second…"

The blonde didn't seem like he wanted to. Instead, he focused his concentration back on the door.

Goku wondered why Sanzo didn't realize that Gojyo meant no harm. At least he hoped he didn't. Vampires only needed shadows (which Gojyo could manipulate the best of them all) to find their way. And, who ever heard of a Keikan _asking_ to be let in?

The redhead's comment made him wonder if Gojyo had slipped into his mind again. "I don't have to knock."

"Then _don't_."

"You aren't going to let me in?" Goku could practically hear his friend's miffed tone that reminded him of a mock pout.

"Like hell," Sanzo said sharply. "And stop with the 'innocent' act. What do you want?"

"And has anyone taught _you_ manners?" Gojyo challenged. "It isn't nice to leave people at your door. And Goku," the redhead paused, "It also isn't nice to not let your friends know when your plans change."

Sanzo's gaze shifted to focus on the brunette. His eyes were already narrowed, and Goku found that he couldn't resist rolling _his_ eyes.

"I _told_ you that you should listen to me," he said, exasperated. "I know him." Mentally, he felt Kougaiji move closer, and saw that Sanzo had noticed it as well. "I know _them_," he emphasized. Deciding to take a risk, Goku moved toward the door. "I-"

He didn't make it three feet before Sanzo had grabbed him by the sleeve, the hold too firm to break. "Stand _still_." The blonde then looked back at the door. "I never said I was _nice_," he spat. "You want to talk, you talk out there."

"…then do you mind if _I_ talk to you in here?" the voice startled Goku and he realized that he had been focusing on Gojyo so much that his mind had almost completely forgotten about Kougaiji. He knew that the vampire could see the surprise in his face, and he winced slightly. Surely he'd get a lecture about that later…

His former teacher stood just inside the window from across the room. It had been the window Sanzo had originally looked out of when he had seen them only moments before. Kougaiji didn't look very happy about this situation, and Goku couldn't blame him. Yes, he was going to get chewed out for this later. Forcing a vampire to trespass in another's territory? Goku was surprised that Kougaiji didn't start yelling at him on the spot.

"Yes, I do mind," Sanzo said, bringing Goku back to the matter at hand. The Hunter could feel Sanzo's grip tighten, as he pulled the brunette to his side. Goku was in between the two (visible) vampires, and obviously that wouldn't do in Sanzo's eyes.

"Hey!" The brunette didn't like being tugged around. He had his own two feet, thank you very much. Just because he wasn't as fast as the others in the room didn't mean that he couldn't use his legs.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Kougaiji asked in the strained-polite tone Goku recognized as the one he had when he was irritated.

Muscles tensing, Goku felt Sanzo's weight shift. He hoped that Sanzo wouldn't try to do something stupid. Not that the blonde _was_ stupid, but people rarely thought coherently when they were angry and Sanzo was _pissed_.

"For starters," the blonde said slowly, "You could get the hell out of my apartment."

"We just want to talk."

"No one wants to 'just talk' these days," Sanzo said roughly, glaring at the intruder. The Hunter could feel the hate build between the two, the tension becoming disturbingly thick. It made Goku shift awkwardly. Without giving it much thought, his free arm went up to touch the bandage on his neck – the only place on his body that he felt the most physically uncomfortable. When he saw Kougaiji's eyes shift and refocus on his neck, Goku realized that he had made a big mistake.

Suddenly wary of his former teacher, Goku took a step behind Sanzo and peered out. "Uh, guys? Can we, like, you know, not get in a big fight right now?" Despite having the distinct feeling that he really _should_ keep his mouth shut, he continued. "Hey, Kougaiji." His address brought the redhead's attention away from his neck and to his face… for the moment. "Seriously," he continued, "can we do without the killing right now?" Goku knew without him saying that the vampire hated to kill. However, he didn't mind so much when it appeared that one of his friends had been harmed…

"It isn't what it looks like-"

A loud noise – something along the lines of metal snapping, was accompanied by the screech of rusty hinges. "Jeez, we didn't even say anything," Gojyo replied again in a mocking tone. Kougaiji didn't look the least bit surprised to see his companion suddenly standing in the room. When Goku turned around to see him, he almost wanted to slap his forehead – the vampire was simply standing in the doorway with a hand on the doorknob. The Hunter saw Sanzo bare his teeth instinctively in response. Taking a closer look, Goku saw one of the reasons why – the doorknob had broken off and was in Gojyo's hand.

"Hey, I _said_ I didn't have to knock."

Sanzo seemed that he almost couldn't believe what he was seeing. "What is it that you want?" he asked, his voice strained.

"The monkey," Gojyo said simply. "He never came home after going out to play."

"I'm not a monkey!" Goku shot back, although his frown didn't seem to last very long against a knowing grin. How long had he been having these arguments with Gojyo? It seemed like forever.

Gojyo leered back. "Oh yeah, then you should stop jumping around like one."

"…and you should stop making such huge messes when you fight," Kougaiji said darkly. "The Diet's going to be all over that."

Goku felt his grin falter. "What? It's not like I plan it like that or anything…" His mind reeled for ideas. Things were getting worse by the moment. Looking up at Sanzo, who was now looking back at him, he silently pleaded with the blonde to not go nuclear or anything. Turning his gaze back to Kougaiji, Goku began to mutter. "He… uh…" _How am I supposed to say-_

"Saved your ass." Sanzo supplied, a little irksome that he had been ignored in the past exchange. Goku winced, and found his hand drifting up to his bandage again.

"And I suppose that he had nothing to do with _that_ either?" Kougaiji accused, pointing at Goku's neck.

"The bandage is mine, if that's what you mean," the blonde said wryly.

"I wasn't referring to the bandage," Kougaiji said darkly. "What do you think we are? Idiots?" He took a step nearer in challenge. "We can both see what you left on him."

-

Gojyo wasn't shocked by Kougaiji's revelation. He had sensed it when they had gotten close to the stranger's apartment. And… Gojyo could tell that Goku wasn't lying. He wasn't telling the complete truth, but he wasn't lying either. If Goku insinuated that he had not been bitten, then Gojyo would believe him. Especially since he could tell that the Hunter was not under hypnosis.

_But then… how the hell did he…_

"Ex_cuse_ me?" the blonde, _Sanzo? Had that been what Goku had called him?,_ questioned, seemingly perplexed and pissed at the same time. Gojyo almost did a double take. _What the hell? A newbie Keikan?_ Gojyo wanted to hold his head in his hands. He gave a sideways glance to Kougaiji and rolled his eyes.

"He didn't do anything to me," Goku said, sounding somewhat defensive. Looking closer, the redhead could see a faint blush on the Hunter's cheeks. Goku wasn't the kind of person to blush unless he was thoroughly embarrassed.

"Really, now?" Gojyo asked in an almost sing-song tone. "You're turning red," he pointed out. "Goku, I never knew you were the kind of person who would skip out on Lirin for a hot date. What did you do? Pick him up at the pool hall?"

"No!" Goku protested, turning redder. "I… I got in a fight."

"No shit," Gojyo said bluntly. He wanted to smirk at the look of dislike that seemed to grow on Sanzo's face. It was dangerous to upset an unfamiliar Keikan, but annoying the blonde was _fun_…

Goku looked up again at his captor's face and shrugged his shoulders, trying to loosen the hold on him. "Let go, will you? They aren't going to _eat_ me or anything."

"You _are_ at the top of everyone's dining list, need I remind you?"

"Like yours?" Kougaiji inquired.

Gojyo was actually glad that he was not the recipient of _that_ particular glare. However, the blonde loosed the hold on Goku's shirt, allowing him to slip free.

Even though he was finally free, Gojyo noticed that Goku would not move. The vampire didn't think that Sanzo would have let the Hunter go very far anyways.

"It isn't even a bite, you guys," Goku vainly tried to point out.

"That doesn't mean anything," Kougaiji said shortly.

"Shut the hell up." It appeared that Sanzo's patience was getting to the breaking point. Gojyo took another step towards Goku and scowled.

"Do you have _any_ idea how much the others have been worried about you?" he said, his voice taking on the serious tone that he hated to use. "Why didn't you tell anyone you were going out?"

"It was sort of last minute," Goku said sheepishly, "but it wasn't like I didn't tell _anyone_. I told Shuuei before I left-"

-

Sanzo had only been listening to the berating of his prey with half of his attention. While the sensible part of his mind had decided to return after the sudden disappearance in lieu of these two redheaded strangers, his body would not relax. Goku, in truth, while sometimes a bit irresponsible at times, was no idiot. The sensible part of his mind knew that if Goku really served under either of these Keikans, his attitude would have been much different. Under no circumstances would a true servant of a vampire treat their master as an equal, or visa versa. It was as if the brunette just 'happened' to know about his friends' inhumanity.

The scenario was abnormal. It didn't make sense to him.

His musings had been interrupted by Goku's statement. Again he felt his body react – his ears immediately sharpening and bringing the once uninteresting conversation back to his attention. His eyes focused on Goku, but he also saw the other two stiffen.

The brunette caught himself mid sentence and immediately shut his mouth. But Sanzo had already heard what had been said, even if it wasn't that big of a statement. The rumor he had heard days ago was now a valid statement in his eyes.

_Shuuei…_

"Who?" he asked, wanting to hear Goku say the name again. Noticing his prey look to his friends for help, Sanzo watched the two carefully so he would not miss their reaction.

They were not in the greatest of spirits.

"He's no one," the one with the shorter hair said quickly, while the one with the longer hair just shook his head and scowled. Sanzo simply ignored them and turned his full attention to Goku. There was no verbal exchange needed for the young man to figure out that he demanded an answer.

Fidgeting, Goku forced his hands down from where he appeared to be unconsciously touching his neck. Putting them into his pockets, he smiled sheepishly and tried to move in the direction of his friends. "Listen, thanks for the help and rice and clothes and stuff, but I think I should probably-"

Sanzo reached out to halt the brunette with the palm of his hand. "Not a chance," he said shortly. "If it was no one, then you wouldn't have bothered letting him know where you were going." He paused, letting his three 'guests' think on that. "If he was no one, why was he the only person you told?" Purposely leaving the question rhetorical, he quickly continued. "Now, where is he?"

"Who ever said that we know the same guy?" the longer haired one, Kougaiji, asked challengingly.

"Yes, because 'Shuuei' is such a common name in the Empire…." Sanzo shot back sarcastically. "And I never asked your opinion."

He was about to retort when he felt his wrist grabbed in a rather urgent motion. Goku stared up into his eyes, and he knew that the young man was only trying to serve as a distraction. "Why is it important?" he asked.

"Shuuei doesn't concern you," Kougaiji said, crossing his arms. "Come on, Goku." He took a step towards them, never taking his eyes off the blonde. "Let's get going."

Sanzo found himself glaring at the Keikan, feeling his temper take an edge in his voice. "You have no clue what concerns me and what doesn't. And he," here he grabbed the front of Goku's shirt, "goes nowhere until I know where Shuuei is."

The mask of Goku's exuberance continued to become more fake in appearance. The brunette was obviously becoming more uncomfortable by the second. "How do you know him?" he asked.

"If you say you know Shuuei, then you already know where he is," Kou said simply. "There is no reason why you should keep questioning Goku."

"_Knowing_ of a person doesn't necessarily mean one knows _where_ said person is." He shifted his gaze back to Goku. "Where is he?" he repeated.

Goku tried to back away, but soon realized yet again that the Keikan was gripping him harder than he seemed to have thought. "Um…"

Sanzo ignored the slow approach of Gojyo and heard his voice drop lower. "Where _is_ he?"

Shifting nervously, Goku's eye contact faltered as he looked at the floor. "I can't tell you that."

"You owe me for saving your life. I might consider us even if you tell me where the hell he is."

Gojyo reached out and grabbed the arm of the brunette that was closest to him. "He _can't_ tell you that," he said slowly, "or do you have trouble hearing?" Sanzo could feel Goku try to pry his hand free of the borrowed shirt to no avail.

Sanzo scowled. "I have trouble with having to hear your voice every single time you open your mouth to use it," he spat. "And I _will_ find out, whether it be from him," he yanked on Goku, bring him closer, "or from you."

The brunette made a small noise of discomfort as he fought to retain his balance in the tug-of-war between the two Keikans. He tugged harder on Sanzo's hand, and even if it still did no good, he struggled to make his point. "Let go, Sanzo," he pleaded. "If you know Shuuei, he knows you, right? Maybe we could set up a meeting or something…"

Sanzo could tell when he was being lied to. "Don't take me for an idiot."

"You aren't," Kougaiji admitted. "But that doesn't mean we can let you see him."

The blonde continued to scowl, until an idea crept into his mind. His expression faltered, but then slid into an indifferent look. Letting go of the shirt, he took a step away from Goku.

"Tell Shuuei that he should be more careful with who is allowed to know of him. Master Koumyou wouldn't have appreciated hearing his apprentice's name in a bar where anyone could hear it."

The reaction of his fellow vampires' faces was priceless. Goku appeared to be confused, but quickly gauged from the other's reaction that he should really know what was being talked about. Smirking, Sanzo boldly turned and took a few more steps away from them.

"Get the hell out of my apartment."

They didn't need to be told twice, it sounded like, but Sanzo stopped them again just before he heard the first one walk out of the door. "Goku." He turned back around to face the three of them again.

The young man didn't verbally respond, but showed that he had Sanzo's complete attention.

"I want you to return those clothes I lent to you _personally_. By yourself," he emphasized, eyes flickering at his other two companions.

Goku audibly swallowed, but nodded an affirmative. Sanzo was about to turn back around in silent dismissal of his uninvited guests when Gojyo tossed him his doorknob, which he had apparently been holding onto the whole time.

"I believe that's yours," Gojyo said simply. He then followed the other two out and shut the (now broken) door.

Sanzo threw the doorknob on the table. His mind fought to make sense of what just happened, and he could feel a headache coming on. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

I thought it would be good to put a note here – I have decided to change my mind on when I shall boost the rating to "R." I had originally said it was going to be due to the first lime scene, but I changed my mind due to something else that is going to happen in a few chapters. I just wanted to give everyone a head's up that the rating change is going to happen sooner than I thought.

As always, comments and criticisms are appreciated.

-Iapetus


	8. Chapter 07: Knossos

Somewhere I Belong

A Saiyuki fan fiction by Iapetus  
Disclaimer: I do not own Saiyuki.  
Beta Readers: Orenda

* * *

Chapter 7: Knossos 

•

Tonpu leaned back in the ratty-looking swivel chair and looked at the paper in his left hand. In his right hand was a red pen, the cap off and poised over the paper – ready to start writing at any moment. The tip of the writing utensil only _just_ avoided making any marks on the document as it moved slowly downward, following the same path as the editor's eyes.

It was his first read-through of the new article, and Tonpu made it a point to make no marks on _anything_ until he had read it through once completely. He found that it actually saved him time in the long run – he would catch more mistakes the second time around than if he just read it objectively in the first viewing. That, and he had to put each article through his own specially devised litmus test.

No matter how good the writing was, if it somehow contradicted some sort of value of the Diet, he'd have to refuse it. It was more than his job, and even his life, was worth to forsake his position at the newspaper. In these rough drafts, if an article had conflicting issues he'd simply tell the reporter in question that they had to trash it. He wasn't like some of the other editors that had them work endlessly on an article that would just be refused when it came time to print. Tonpu scowled; he wasn't a sadist like that.

Over time, Tonpu had built up the reputation of being the most fair of all the editors on the staff. While he was required to follow the rules just as much as the others, his lack of desire to play unnecessary mind games had gained him the respect of nearly everyone there. He took no sides, in their view. He was neutral.

Sighing, the Weakling threw the article in an overflowing desk wire basket marked "rejects." There had been a few minor grammar mistakes, but it was otherwise an incredible piece. Yet another amazing piece of writing that only he'd be able to see. Looking over to where his monitor was turned on, he opened up his e-mail program and scrolled down the list of incoming messages. He found one that bore the same title as the article he had just read, and opened it up. It was the same piece of writing – all reporters were required to send both a physical and electronic copy to their editor when submitting anything. Tonpu smiled faintly, and moved the e-mail to one of the many "reject" folders he had created.

The few articles that he discarded that were actually informative he would save to his own personal file. If he was to formally reject an article, it had to be archived in the paper's database that he had done so, and the physical copy would be shredded. However, he would simply send a copy over for Shuuei to look at, and he would pass any of the relevant information along accordingly. But… it just frustrated him that those reporters would never know how much their writing helped. It wasn't fair.

Picking up the next paper out of yet another overflowing wire basket (this one happened to be marked "In"), Tonpu set about to repeat the process. He was just lucky that he didn't have the influx of articles like some of the other editors did during the day. While his piled up on his desk until he came in, the only stories he had to worry about coming in while he was at work were from some of the few reporters who were vampires like himself.

He never threw out articles written by them. They were wise enough to figure out which stories wouldn't fly and would be best not mentioned at all. None of those reporters were under his jurisdiction, and Tonpu didn't know if this was a good thing or bad thing. It was dangerous to get close to any vampire – friend or foe.

The editor would have continued his pre-read of his current piece when he noticed the telltale popup that appeared on his monitor at least fifty times a day. He had gotten a new e-mail. Glancing at the window, he saw that it was not someone from his address book. It wasn't one of his reporters or fellow editors, and that surprised him. Tonpu's e-mail account had been specially altered by the Diet (as did all the other editors) to only accept e-mails from their coworkers, or fellow governmental employees. Restrictive would have been a nice term to refer to it as, but on the bright side he didn't get any spam. But if his computer didn't recognize the sender… then it _had_ to be a member of the Diet. Setting the article down, he clicked the "ok" button to direct himself to his e-mail server, and opened it up to read.

Dear Sir,Recently it has come to  
my attention that  
the Oniori Daily  
has been pushing to do a series of articles  
on various  
writers  
within the Empire.  
If this is so, then the Diet humbly  
requests that you write about the following authors  
first and foremost.  
We believe that the public would like to know  
primarily about them.

We are also aware that a  
few of the authors mentioned here write  
under pennames.  
After much thought, the Diet has  
decided that these authors do not have anything to hide  
from the public, and  
should be written about  
first.  
If you are having trouble  
finding information  
about them through your normal means,  
the Diet will put forth the funds for  
any reward you wish to  
offer for information. You would  
be _amazed_ at the information you would find once others realize  
that money is involved.

Of all the people on this list, I  
suggest that you look for the authors in the order  
we listed them.  
I'm sure they would be  
overjoyed to get an  
interview from the prestigious  
_Oniori Today_.

My best regards on being  
able to  
find this information.  
Again, if you have any trouble,  
the Diet would be  
more  
than  
willing  
to help you with your  
job.

Sincerely,  
-Bunny-san

_Bunny-san?__ Wasn't that the same freak that Shunrei told me was bugging- His_ eyes widened as he examined the list of names that had been enclosed. Tonpu cringed. It shouldn't have surprised him to see Kougaiji's penname listed first.

_...What the hell did you do to get the Diet so interested in you, Kougaiji?_

•

•

"You're early."

Hakkai smiled as he was invited in. "My watch must be getting a bit faster these days. Would you like me to come back later?"

"No, no, that's ok," Shuuei said, waving his hand. "I was just surprised. You don't usually come this early."

Hakkai glanced at his watch again. It was twenty minutes before Shuuei had asked him to stop by the Shrine today. "Well, it's better to be early than late, and I know how often you have to deal with people being late. I thought it might be a nice change in pace."

Shuuei smirked. "Yeah, it's nice to have a little variety. I'd get bored if people were late all the time. Thank you ever so much for making sure that wouldn't happen, Hakkai." Here he laughed softly, and gave his fellow Hunter a mock bow. Hakkai chuckled and returned it before they continued to walk deeper into the Shrine.

Without a guide, even the best navigators would become hopelessly lost in this area. Every time a Hunter came to the Shrine for whatever reason, it was required that Shuuei lead them in. It was what the Abbot liked to call a "living maze," and it had been created decades ago to help increase the security surrounding the Holy Water. Only those who had lived there for an extended period of time could ever have a hope to find their way alone, and as a rule Hunters did not take up residence in the Shrine unless there were literally no other options. While it was hazardous to have only one person know the way around, there wasn't anything they could do about it.

After a few minutes where Hakkai could have sworn that they went through the same door three times, they arrived in a shabby-looking sitting room. Computer cords were duct taped to the paint-cracked wall and out of the way, and they all lead to where one laptop was resting on an end table that Shuuei sat down next to. He sat on an ottoman that had seen better days, but it was the perfect height for him to type so he voiced no complaints. Hakkai sat down in an old rocking chair across from him.

Shuuei typed something in before speaking again. "Do you want something to drink? I don't have any wine to offer, but I do have some nice sparkling water that Yaone got for me the other day…"

Hakkai waved a hand in refusal. "No thank you. I'm not very thirsty right now." Shuuei nodded in understanding, but rose and went to a small fridge in the corner of the room to get one for himself. The carbonation hissed as he opened his bottle, and he sat back down. Taking a sip, he grimaced.

"This stuff takes some getting used to, but it's starting to grow on me…" Hakkai silently agreed with the statement. "But anyways," Shuuei continued, "Have you found out anything new about that girl's death in the alley?"

The Hunter shook his head as he leaned back in his chair. "Not really. I went off the information that you gave me, but that's all we really have. She was just a law-abiding citizen who was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Being out that early in the morning is dangerous, and everyone knows it," the Abbot said darkly. "Vampires aren't the only things haunting the streets."

"Yes, but she wasn't near any of the gang territories either," Hakkai pointed out. "She was in a Weakling's territory, but that's it. Nothing worthy of notice previously, and the Weakling was out cold when I found her body."

Shuuei eyed his computer screen and took another sip of water. Hakkai had noticed that his friend had a habit of glancing at his computer screens whenever he was nervous. It was an interesting habit that he noticed several of his hacker friends possess. But not all answers could be found with a hacker program.

"I still don't like this. We have no idea who could have possibly killed the both of them, Kougaiji gets that disturbing e-mail, and then…" He rested his forehead against the palm of his hand. "…and then Goku gets ambushed. Shunrei's a mess, Lirin's beside herself, I have no idea how Goku must feel right now, and I…" He trailed off, seemingly losing himself in thought. After a quick shake of his head, he looked up. "I don't like this," he repeated.

"No one does," Hakkai agreed. "The only thing we know is that whoever killed those two in the alley was good. They don't leave witnesses so no one knows about them. There aren't even any rumors besides the usual ones for vampires."

"And Gojyo hasn't heard anything either?"

"No," Hakkai said simply, "unless he's told you something before he was able to tell me."

The Abbot shook his head. "I've heard nothing; Gojyo's heard nothing. Everywhere we go, we hear nothing. We're losing this fight day by day. How long are we supposed to last?"

Hakkai didn't know what to say to that. There was nothing anyone could say to make the situation look any better.

"You and I both know the answer," Shuuei said darkly. "We aren't supposed to last. How are we supposed to live this life, watching those we care about die or turned into devils?"

"I don't know," Hakkai said truthfully. An awkward pause followed, in which both men found themselves lost in their own thoughts. He was a unique Hunter – one that had the ability to kill Keikans. It was not some honored fighting technique, but to use it his target couldn't suspect. But what good was he if the one Keikan he desperately wanted to kill the most would be the last one to fall for his trap? With that he was back on the level of the rest of the Hunters. He could not avenge Kanan no matter how much he wanted to. There was always the possibility of Gojyo avenging her for him – his friend wanted to do a bit of avenging of his own – but the risk was too great. He would not risk Gojyo's life in a quest for his own revenge, especially since there was no hope to save Gojyo's soul.

"Master Koumyou did much better than I ever could, or can," Shuuei said suddenly. "If he were still alive I bet he could turn the tides of this war."

The green-eyed man shook his head. "Things were horrible even when Koumyou-sensei was leading us. Yaone and I didn't know him long, but we knew this weighted heavily on his mind too. We were losing even then."

Shuuei didn't say anything. He finished his water in silence and threw the bottle into a bin across the room. It bounced off the rim and rolled across the floor until it stopped against a wall. He smiled as he got up.

"Well, we do know one thing for sure. I can't shoot like Goku can."

They both laughed. "That's true enough," Hakkai said, "Although you may be able to catch him off-guard right now. He's not in season, after all."

Shuuei laughed again, and then headed back to the small refrigerator. "You sure you don't want any?"

Hakkai decided that it would be good to humor his friend. "I guess I could have just one." Shuuei got two out and kicked the door shut with his foot. Walking over to where they were sitting, he handed one bottle out to Hakkai, which he took promptly.

When the Hunter opened the bottle and took a sip, he was reminded of why he refused the first time. After taking another sip to be polite, he put the cap back on and set it next to his feet. Across from him, Shuuei had already downed half of the container, and was rolling the cap between his fingers. It slipped from his grip, but he caught it before it fell to the ground.

"There's something else," he said finally.

Hakkai wasn't too surprised to hear this. There was always something else. "Yes?" he said politely.

Shuuei continued to roll the bottle cap as he spoke. "Goku isn't telling us something."

_That much is obvious_, Hakkai agreed, but he simply nodded and waited for the Abbot to continue.

"It isn't even his demeanor. Anyone could tell he's hiding something, but why he wouldn't tell us is beyond my comprehension."

Hakkai smiled, but it was one of his fake smiles. They had neglected to mention to Shuuei exactly what had happened that night. It disturbed Gojyo, Kougaiji and himself that this "Sanzo" knew of Shuuei, and even more so wanted to talk with him. Shuuei had enough on his shoulders to know that some unknown powerful Keikan was looking for him. They were going to look into it more first, and until then Shuuei could be preoccupied with dealing with other things – namely about how they were going to get Goku's spike back from the detective.

"When he was being purified," Shuuei said slowly, "he screamed."

Whatever Hakkai had expected to hear, it hadn't been that.

The Abbot shook his head. "I never heard such a sound before. It was as if I were trying to wrench something from him – I don't know." He closed his eyes against the memory. "It killed me to make him go through that. He wasn't crying, but you could see the tears in his eyes from the pain.

"We both know that bathing in Holy Water is by no means a fun experience, but for it to be that painful? I have no idea why. I took off that bandage myself – he wasn't bitten like he said. There's no reason for there to be any more discomfort than usual."

"And this is why you think he's hiding something," Hakkai said in conclusion.

"What, Gojyo didn't tell you that either?" Shuuei smirked. "He said it got so bad he was willing to try to hypnotize him into telling what happened."

No, Hakkai knew that. It had become a double-edged sword that Gojyo had taught Goku how to throw hypnosis himself. The first person he'd be able to defend against was the one who instructed him.

"We're not supposed to be the 'bad guys,'" Shuuei said, disgusted. "We shouldn't have to stoop to that level." They did anyways the moment they let other vampires join the fight, but neither one of them were going to voice that statement.

"Then how are we going to find out?" Hakkai asked. "We've already had to use those methods before on other people."

Shuuei shook his head. "I have an idea, but I really don't think it's going to work…"

•

•

The sky outside looked like something out of a painting Yaone had seen in a museum before. Multiple hues of gray painted the sky in shapes of clouds that the Hunter wished would bring a storm. She sighed a sigh of relief and thanked the clouds for their presence. Vampires didn't like water at all, and in any form. Whenever it rained it would reduce the number of their jaunts, and therefore cut the Hunters a bit of slack. Rain was always welcome in a Hunter's eyes, especially recently since there had been a drought for several months. It wasn't just them that wanted the rain, but everyone in the capital. Maybe if it rained, their water bills wouldn't be so high…

Thunder sounded in the distance, taunting her with its possibility. It was so close but so far – she wondered if it would make it to the city limits at all. The storm couldn't be more than three or four miles away at most. She wondered if Kougaiji would be back before then, or if he'd get caught in the rain as well, if it rained at all. The blue-haired woman giggled to herself. It wasn't a laughing matter, but she half-wished that Kougaiji would get caught in the rain on the way home. He had been indifferent to it as a human, and while now he naturally hated it along with the rest of his kind, his expression was always priceless when he came in soaked. He'd look like a cat that had its fur rubbed the wrong way. She shouldn't think of him like that as being adorable, but it was.

A gentle knock caused Yaone to stop her thinking and turn her attention to the door. _Who could that be?_ She wondered. There wasn't any way it could be Kougaiji, and he wouldn't have knocked even if he lost the key.

After a quick check through the spy hole, she undid the several locks and opened the door. There standing at her threshold was Shunrei, trying to wear a happy expression on her face but failing miserably. Yaone quickly invited her in and closed the door, making sure she locked all the locks before turning back to her impromptu guest.

"How are you?" she asked good-naturedly, walking to where Shunrei had taken her seat. When she didn't respond right away, Yaone grew worried. Sitting down next to her, she felt her voice grow softer. "What's wrong?"

Shunrei couldn't respond right away, and fidgeted with her hands. "I can't stand this. I can't stand waiting anymore."

The Hunter blinked in surprise, and it took her a moment to realize what she was talking about. For once, she was glad that Kougaiji was gone.

"It's about Goku's ambush, isn't it?" she asked gently.

The blonde nodded. "I was just trying to help, and on my way I was clumsy and lost his spike to the Diet. I'm pathetic."

"No, you are not," Yaone said firmly, taking her friend's hands into hers. "If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have found out about Goku when we did."

"That's not the point. It's only a matter of time before I'm questioned, but they haven't yet," she choked back a sob, "and I'm scared."

Yaone looked at the hands that were resting in her lap. She didn't know what to say. Instead, she squeezed Shunrei's hands reassuringly.

"Maybe this is a good sign," she tried to reason. "It's been a week, after all, and you've still heard nothing."

Shunrei shook her head and looked away, responding as if she hadn't heard what was said. "They've launched a large-scale search for the perpetrator. They don't even know who they're hunting for, and what would happen if they found it was Goku? And even if they didn't and thought it was me, there's no way I could get out of that." The Diet took action much quicker than it did investigations, and it wouldn't be uncommon for them to silence someone who later was proven innocent. The blonde woman continued. "If they catch me there will be serious trouble. I can't resist hypnosis like you Hunters can."

"It isn't easy to do," Yaone admitted, trying to reassure her friend. "I had such a hard time with it at first."

"But you're a _Hunter_, Yaone!" Shunrei practically cried out. "I'm only human. I don't want to be anything more, but like this I'm helpless."

"Don't say that." Telling Shunrei that she was needed just as much as anybody else in the resistance wasn't going to help her now. It wasn't a matter of need; it was a matter of survival.

Yaone chose her words carefully. "Did either you or Shuuei find your name mentioned at all in the police records?"

"No," Shunrei said. "I don't know what to make of that either. It's too much to hope that Detective Taishi said nothing.

"Have you hacked into his computer?"

The hacker sighed. "Of course. There wasn't anything there either."

Yaone shifted in her chair uncomfortably. "That's strange…"

Shunrei pushed some hair out of her face. "Because of what happened, Shuuei put my apartment on the surveillance list this week. It would be too convenient if I wasn't on that list now, whether it be coincidence or not."

Yaone stood up and walked to the coffee table and put a wayward magazine back in its pile. She couldn't just sit around and only talk anymore. "Well, I guess we'll just have to have Goku and Lirin's study sessions here this week." She smiled and turned back around. "Lirin said she didn't mind taking a rain check and I know Goku feels bad for causing such problems even if he couldn't really help it…"

Shunrei finally smiled back. "It won't be a problem. For their homework we just need a normal computer. Would Kougaiji let us borrow his?"

The Hunter's expression faltered. "…he has to buy a new mouse first."

That seemed to surprise Shunrei, and she didn't hide it in the tone of her voice. "He still hasn't gotten a new one?"

Yaone shook her head. "He hasn't gotten around to it."

"Is he afraid he'll just break it again?" Shunrei asked.

"No, that's not it," the Hunter wrung her hands together. "He's broken so many before. Something's different now."

"What?"

"I'll show you." With that, she went into her bedroom and got a shoebox from under her bed. She brought it out to the main room and sat down next to Shunrei. "I haven't seen him this upset in so long. I asked for Gojyo and Hakkai's help, but they won't tell me exactly what's wrong." She took off the lid of the shoebox to reveal the contents to her friend. Inside was the broken mouse. It looked as if someone had squeezed the life out of it, and it was a mess of plastic and wires. Yaone knew that the only way anyone could recognize it was by the cord.

"That's what you found in the trash?" Shunrei asked.

Yaone nodded. "Usually when he breaks them they just crack in two, but this…"

Shunrei took the box from Yaone to look at it closer. "I can see why you'd be concerned. But why in the world would Kougaiji keep something that would make him this upset from you?"

At this, Yaone's eyes started to mist. "You know how proud he is. He's probably upset that I told Gojyo and Hakkai that something was wrong. They told me he was planning on seeing Shuuei about it, so I thought it might have something to do with computers, and so that's why I was wondering if you knew anything about it." Her eyes were hopeful as she looked at her friend. "Do you know what's wrong?"

Shunrei bit her lip, as if debating whether to say anything or not. "Trust me, Yaone, you're better off not knowing."

* * *

Comments and criticisms always appreciated. ♥

-Iapetus


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